The Fayette County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Jan. 11 to adopt a resolution supporting “religious liberty” legislation in the Georgia legislature and “adopting as its own” language from the 2015 U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 514, “Protecting Religious Freedom in America.”

State Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, sponsor of Senate Bill 233, showed a video about the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act that claims religious freedom has become “a third-class right.”

About a dozen opponents of the measure said such legislation could be used as a basis for discrimination. Charles Rousseau did not endorse the resolution, questioning whether it was meant as “a litmus test to see how religious we are.”

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff