The debate over the pair of ‘Religious Freedom’ bills in the Georgia House and Senate has found a public face, and it may not be the one that the bill’s sponsors want.
Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kevin Cochran – fired last week after passing out copies of his recently published book, Who Told You That You Were Naked, a self-published work that condemns homosexuality – has rallied support around himself to protest his firing. Religious leaders spoke out at a press conference in the State Capitol last Tuesday, putting Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who fired Cochran, on blast for what they call an ‘unjust’ termination. In their eyes, firing a man on the basis of his religious beliefs is far more damning than considering homosexuals to be second class citizens. Of course Reed explained Cochran’s firing differently, saying that it was an issue of ignoring the City’s ethics code as well as an opening for potential lawsuits.
From Fox 5 Atlanta – Religious leaders rally in support of recently-fired Atlanta Fire Chief Kevin Cochran
Such an aggressive line on homosexuality, though, is exactly what State Sen. Josh McKoon and State Rep. Sam Teasley, the two authors of the pair of bills, (McKoon has yet to file his, Teasley pre-filed HB 29 in December) don’t want to see take center stage in the debate. In 2014 business leaders, including Atlanta giants Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and Delta Airlines, voiced their concern over that year’s version of the bill, worrying that it would lead to discrimination in the workplace. Supporters on the other hand have framed the argument as one that merely protects citizens from having their freedom of religion infringed upon.
That debate is a completely reasonable one, and one that certainly should be taking place under the gold dome. After all, 19 states already have similar legislation, and the bill itself is modeled after a 1993 federal law which was aimed at preventing laws which might infringe on freedom of religion.
Pitting the religious right and the business community against one another though, as Cochran’s firing seems poised to do, is an incidence of pouring gasoline on the fire. And as Reed so succinctly put it during a press conference regarding the situation, “I hired him to put out fires, not to create them.”
