GOP divisions derail 'religious liberty' vote in Georgia for now

Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Mar 19, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The effort to revive Georgia’s controversial “religious liberty” legislation stalled in a House committee Wednesday after two Republicans joined Democrats to oppose it.

The measure could come up for another vote, but the Republican pushback to a bill Democrats have long rejected was another reminder of how divisive the legislation remains after a decade-long debate.

The unexpected vote came after four hours of emotional testimony over the measure, which was once the most polarizing issue under the Gold Dome but has more recently been eclipsed by other culture war debates.

Republican state Rep. Deborah Silcox, who represents a swing Sandy Springs district, voted against the bill after her effort to add an antidiscrimination clause was rejected by the GOP-led committee. She was joined by state Rep. Stan Gunter, R-Blairsville.

The 7-5 vote against the measure set off a frenzy in the committee, which quickly moved to adjourn. The swift decision means that supporters can bring the bill, which cleared the Senate along party lines, up for another vote as soon as Thursday.

Religious conservatives in Georgia have long pushed to pass the legislation, modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, to provide an extra layer of legal protection for people of faith from government interference.

But critics have framed the legislation as a thinly veiled effort to sanction discrimination against LGBTQ Georgians and warned that its passage could bring steep economic backlash.

Gov. Nathan Deal cited that argument in 2016 when he vetoed the legislation, a move that infuriated his party’s base. At a panel discussion this month, he said he nixed it because it was an attempt to target same-sex marriage with “good-sounding religious aura.”

That’s why Silcox and other lawmakers have pushed for antidiscrimination protections in the measure, something that Republican state Sen. Ed Setzler, the bill’s sponsor, and other advocates say would weaken it.

“We’ve shown this does not discriminate,” Setzler said.

Critics of the legislation say the refusal to include specific protections against discrimination is telling.

“What does that tell me?” she asked at the hearing. “That tells me this is going to be used as a sword, and not the shield the federal government intended it to be. This threatens the community it claims to protect.”

_____