State Senator Marty Harbin (R) introduced a bill increasing protections for personal beliefs, mirroring the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act that President Bill Clinton signed into law. The bill would require a “compelling governmental interest” to justify interfering with a person’s religious practices, and when necessary would interfere with the “least restrictive means.”
LGBT+ rights advocates condemn the bill, saying it will legalize discrimination and threaten Georgia’s reputation as a good place to do business.
Advocacy group Georgia Equality released a statement, saying that the bill “would allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers, among others, and would grant taxpayer-funded agencies a broad license to discriminate against LGBT youth, families, and other Georgians.”
Similar bills have pushed large companies like Coca-Cola and Disney to threaten to leave Georgia in the past.
Read more at ABC.