Category Archives: compelling government interest

ANALYSIS: Religious Freedom Wasn’t about Discrimination; It is Now

mckoon

(APN) ATLANTA — When HB 29 and SB 129 were introduced in the Georgia House and Senate this year, respectively, advocates of LGBTQI equality immediately waxed hyperbolic, calling it the Hate the Gays bill.   Atlanta Progressive News ran a lengthy analysis in early January 2015 explaining that the bill was more broadly encompassing and more substantively complex than its […]

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State Senate Passes Religious Freedom; State School Takeovers

engross

With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale   (APN) ATLANTA — On Thursday, March 05, 2015, the full State Senate voted to engross SB 129, the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Bill, in a vote of 38 yeas to 17 nays.  The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 37 to 15.  Engrossment means that the bill cannot be changed; […]

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Sen. McKoon Rushes Religious Freedom Bill without Notice, Transparency

religious freedom

(APN) ATLANTA — On Monday, March 02, 2015, the Senate Judiciary Civil Committee passed an amended version of SB 129, the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act.   The amended version states in the legislative findings but not in the operative text of the bill that courts “have consistently held that government has a fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating discrimination.”   […]

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