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GOP leaders who participated in a rebellion to table “religious liberty” legislation in the Georgia Senate told constituents on Friday that they support the bill, and that efforts to amend it do not mean they are trying to kill it.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, and state Sen. Jesse Stone, R-Waynesboro, both defended their actions and said they only wanted to perfect Senate Bill 129 as it works through the committee process. Cowsert and Stone were among a bipartisan coalition voting yes, including three Republicans, to table the bill on a 5-3 vote Thursday.
Advocates on opposing sides of the issue also weighed in Friday. Conservatives took aim particularly at Cowsert, while others warned that passage of a religious liberty bill would portray Georgia as unfriendly to the gay community and hinted at a boycott.
SB 129 is one of two at the Capitol — the other is House Bill 218 — that supporters say would prevent government intrusion on faith-based beliefs. It uses much the same language as federal legislation that Congress passed in 1993 and carries President Bill Clinton’s signature. It asserts that government has to show a compelling interest for why its policy should override an individual’s religious freedom.
The committee vote to table SB 129 came after the bill’s sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, had prevented Cowsert from adding language that stated the government had a compelling interest to act against religious beliefs if it prevented child abuse or protected individuals from discrimination.
HB 218 is also stalled in committee, despite conservative pressure to jar it loose.
Opponents say the legislation is not needed and could have devastating consequences, such as someone citing the law to refuse goods or services for gay weddings or gay advocacy groups.
Legislator: amendment improves bill’s odds
As written, SB 129 would apply not only to individuals seeking to protect their religious beliefs but also some businesses — something affirmed by the Supreme Court last year in the Hobby Lobby case, when it ruled family-owned corporations could mount religious objections to paying for women’s contraceptives under the national health care overhaul.
McKoon said Cowsert by rule should have given him 24 hours’ notice of the change he wanted. Cowsert countered that McKoon, in an effort to fast-track the bill after introducing it only the day before, provided committee members only 12 hours’ notice of Thursday’s meeting.
“The author of the bill has specifically stated on several occasions that this bill is not intended to discriminate,” Cowsert said in an email to constituents Friday. “The amendment that I proposed simply stated that government has a compelling interest in protecting children from abuse and neglect and to prevent unlawful discrimination.”
He added that “any suggestions that my amendment is intended to kill the legislation” or water it down are untrue.
Stone said he was the one who actually suggested the amendment, but also said he still favors the bill and strongly believes “religious liberty needs stronger protection than is currently afforded by state law.”
“I feel confident that the bill can be brought up again quickly and that the amendment will help make final passage by the Senate and House become a reality,” Stone said.
Legislation spurs strong responses
Both responded after being targeted by irate supporters of the bill, including conservative talk show host Erick Erickson.
“Tell Sen. Cowsert that his amendment to SB 129 is a poison pill, supported by radical left wing activists,” Erickson said in an email to listeners. “Tell Sen. Cowsert to stop collaboration with the left to dilute religious liberty protection.”
Also Friday, a coalition of advocacy groups warned the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in a letter that passage of a religious liberty bill “will send a loud message across the country that Georgia is an unwelcoming place for LGBT Americans” and would threaten the state’s ability to recruit both businesses and tourists.
The letter — which could be read as an indirect threat of a boycott — is signed by 27 groups on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD.
“Georgia does not want a broad, ill-defined law that could allow some people to use one set of religious beliefs to hurt or discriminate against others,” they wrote.
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