Key Highlights
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed in 1993, allows some states to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.
Georgia's recently passed Senate Bill 180 allows faith-based discrimination in Georgia.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1993 to prohibit the government from burdening a person’s free exercise of religion.
The RFRA, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, proposed to give people more protection from government intrusion while practicing their faith.
The RFRA was the overarching law of the land until a 1997 United States Supreme Court decision in City of Boerne v. Flores ruled that RFRA protections only applied to the federal government, and not state or local governments.
Since then, over 34 states have enacted “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” legislation that mirrors the strict protections provided in the federal RFRA.
Though the RFRA seems to provide faith members with stricter protections from government intrusion. In states that have adopted RFRA legislation, it has been used as a legal shield to discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ community.
For example, in Texas, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Arizona, the RFRA has been used to deny public health services, to deny non-Christian and same-sex parents from fostering and adopting and has allowed business owners to use religion as a justification to discriminate against customers.
Under the guise of religious freedom, citizens across the country have been denied access to contraception, HIV prevention such as PrEP and PEP, and treatment for STIs.
In 2016, both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly advanced HB 757, which mirrored language found in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.
However, former Governor Nathan Deal, vetoed the bill after receiving great opposition from LGBTQIA+ organizations, advocates, and the business community. Following the current pattern, the Georgia General Assembly is at it again.
On February 14, 2023, Georgia State Senator Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) introduced the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), SB 180, also known as the “religious liberty” bill.
The reintroduction of the RFRA commemorates over a decade of failed attempts, by Georgia law makers, to pass religious freedom legislation in Georgia.
In Georgia, codifying the current RFRA (SB 180) would create a broad license to discriminate on the basis of faith with no necessary protections against discrimination on the basis of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin, etc.
The RFRA is especially dangerous in a state, like Georgia, with no state-wide non-discrimination law. If passed, SB 180 would allow someone to refuse to fill prescriptions such as birth control or medical services, if a person claims that doing so would violate their religious beliefs. Further, people can refuse to do business with or provide certain services to LGBTQIA+ members.
Unfortunately, SB 180 passed out of the Georgia Senate on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Now, the House will have until Georgia’s last day of session (sine die), on March 28, 2024, to vote against SB 180.
SisterLove opposes SB 180 and stands in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community. We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or country of origin.
SisterLove requests that you make your voice heard! Contact your Georgia representative and urge them to VOTE NO in opposition to SB 180. To find your representative, please go to My Voter Page.