A bill designed to protect Georgia pastors from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies breezed through the House Thursday and now heads to the Senate.
However, it may meet some opposition there. Only hours prior to the unanimous vote by the House, Georgia Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) urged Senators to use common sense and vote against the HB 757, which has become known as the “Pastor Protection Bill.”
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Tanner, (R-Dawsonville) but also has the backing of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge). It is one of eight religious freedom bills trying to make it through the General Assembly this year.
The bill would also allow religious organizations to refuse to rent, lease or allow their property to used for purposes that are contradictory to their beliefs and would prohibit local governments from forcing any business to open on a day set aside for religious observances — which could be either Saturday or Sunday.
Some of the religious freedom bills have conservatives squaring off against each other, including two of the bills which are being referred to as the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA) — the first of which was sponsored by McKoon in 2015. SB 129 passed the Senate last year, but stalled in House Judiciary committee when it was amended to include an anti-discriminatory clause.
Speaking from the Senate floor Thursday morning, McKoon said the only thing good about HB 757 is it’s name.
“More accurately, we should be calling this the “Politician Protection Act,” said McKoon. “because it’s tailor-made for people going back home to campaign. It doesn’t do one thing to protect religion.
“The bill designates a class of people and says those people have more protection than anyone else,” McKoon added. “This comes from a different notion of what we are trying to do with freedom of religion. We are talking about free exercise of religion for everyone.”
McKoon said a better option would be to pass 1 of 3 “better bills” that give Georgians religious liberties and freedoms.
“There is a crisis of confidence in government, and we should be honest with the people,” he said.
HB 870 has also passed the House this week and is headed for the Senate. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough), is designed to ensure the student athlete’s rights to express their religious beliefs.
Strickland explained that the legislation stemmed from an incident when a student was disqualified from a track meet because of religious writing on his headband.
Another of the eight bills protects florists, bakeries and other businesses from forcibly participating in gay weddings. And still another bill is being referred to as the first amendment defense act, while another is aimed at stopping government outreach against religious expression.
