A bill that makes clear no religious leader can be forced to perform a same-sex wedding gets its first hearing by a House panel on Thursday.

House Bill 757, the so-called Pastor Protection Act, will be before a House Judiciary subcommittee at 3 p.m. Thursday in room 132 of the state Capitol.

Proposed by Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, the bill is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville. Ralston has indicated it is the one of several pending bills dealing with religious liberty that he will support.

Read our breakdown of all the related bills and what they would do here.

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(From left) State Election Board member Rick Jeffares, executive director James Mills, vice chair Janice Johnston and member Janelle King listen during an election board meeting at the Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The board voted down a proposal to eliminate Georgia’s touchscreen voting system and switch to hand-marked paper ballots. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

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Democrat Eric Gisler celebrated his Tuesday election victory at the Trappeze Pub in Athens, Ga. (AP)

Credit: AP