I am Georgian and a product of the Georgia public education system. Most of my professional career has been devoted to public service. I worked for nearly 25 years as an attorney for the state, including serving as Georgia’s attorney general from 1981 to 1997. And I am generally conservative. I do not profess perfection. I have made many mistakes in life, but I cannot sit by and do nothing when a great injustice threatens us all.
I feel compelled to speak against two bills currently pending in the Legislature purporting to “restore” religious freedom. These bills do nothing of the sort. After analyzing House Bill 218 and Senate Bill 129, I can unequivocally state that, if enacted into law, this legislation will be an excuse to practice invidious discrimination. Obvious targets for discrimination include gay and transgender persons and religious minorities.
Like most of us, I’ve had a change of heart on certain issues over the years. A fundamental belief I have always felt very strongly about is the rule of law. And that’s why I’m speaking out against these bills. They allow for our laws to be upended. It’s worth noting that there are no federal laws – or state laws, here in Georgia – to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in things like employment, housing and public accommodations. They’re already vulnerable. It is morally reprehensible to make it even easier for people to ignore the rule of law and discriminate against others while holding up religion as their reason for doing so.
Georgia’s state constitution contains some of the strongest religious freedom protections in the country. And of course, religious freedom is a founding principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of religion is not under attack.
But we’re still seeing these bills, known as Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, in a number of states, particularly in the South. The timing of Georgia’s legislation—and similar legislation in other states — coincides with the rapid legalization of gay marriage across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and the Supreme Court’s 2014 Hobby Lobby decision that relied upon the federal RFRA. The proposed state RFRA is nothing more than an effort to legalize discrimination against disfavored groups.
These bills would authorize discrimination against certain people. That’s the truth, no matter what its supporters say. This poses an unprecedented threat to the most fundamental laws governing our society. Any time a person wishes to refuse to obey a government requirement, he or she could assert the protection of the proposed Religious Freedom act. The potential undermining of the rule of law is limitless.
Let’s put it in everyday terms. A landlord could refuse to rent to a hardworking single mother of three simply because he doesn’t approve of her leading a family. A Muslim city clerk could refuse to issue a marriage license to a heterosexual couple between a Muslim and a person of a different religion.
Supporters of these bills like to pretend situations like these would never happen. But their hollow denials are demonstrably false. In states that have enacted their own RFRAs — including Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas — people have used these state laws to justify discrimination against Muslims and homosexuals, as well as to avoid complying with other common-sense laws.
The breadth of Georgia’s proposed Religious Freedom act is extraordinary. It is no exaggeration that the proposed RFRA could be used to justify putting hoods back on the Ku Klux Klan. Since the 1950s, Georgia law has prohibited the Klan from wearing hoods in public to discourage participation in its activities. But the proposed act would create a religious exception, meaning a potent barrier to anonymous participation in hate groups would be eradicated if Georgia.
These types of bill are ill-conceived, unnecessary and mean-spirited. Georgia is a welcoming place. Atlanta has thrived as “the city too busy to hate” – and that’s how we’ll all prosper in the future. Instead, these bills send a message to folks like young gay people to not come to Georgia. We’re saying we don’t need diversity. That’s just not true.
From a legal standpoint, there is absolutely no reason to advance these hateful bills. The federal and state constitutions provide ample protection for religious expression. I want to make sure as many Georgians as possible see these bills for what they really are: ugly attempts to legalize discrimination. Georgia is better than this. These bills are deserving of a swift death.
Michael Bowers was Georgia’s Attorney General from 1981-1997. He practices law as a partner at Balch & Bingham LLP, in Atlanta.
