House committee tables religious liberty bill.

The House Judiciary Committee late Thursday afternoon voted to table the so-called religious liberty bill after it was amended to make clear it could not be used to discriminate.

The amendment, sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Jacobs of Brookhaven, passed by a 9-8 vote after the bill’s supporters warned it would “gut” the bill. In addition to Jacobs, Republican reps. Beth Beskin of Atlanta and Jay Powell of Camilla joined six Democrats to adopt the amendment.

Immediately after the vote, Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, made the motion to table the bill after saying earlier the Jacobs amendment would weaken it to the point he could no longer support it.

While the developments do not kill the bill for the year, they certainly make its odds of passage much longer for this year. Only three legislative days remain in the 2015 session and it would take a half dozen or more votes in committee and in the House and Senate to reach Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk.

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Aaron Gould Sheinin

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