Last year, I prewrote a breaking news piece about Georgia’s General Assembly passing a Religious Freedom Restoration Act ( RFRA ). I was certain that 2024 may be the year when the state government came to its senses and codified protections for people of beliefs against the onslaught of wokeness. Alas, I always got to use it.
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Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga. ) made RFRA one of the cornerstones of his 2022 reelection campaign, and some form of RFRA has made its way through the General Assembly for years. For some reason, politicians overload the charges with revisions that make them stupid, and they never pass.
This time, RFRA is up in front of the General Assembly in the form of SB 36, a plain, four-page act that seeks to “provide for the protection of religious freedom”. Cole Muzio, chairman of Frontline Policy, explained in an email on Tuesday why it’s so crucial for the General Assembly to pass SB 36 without revisions:
In the Georgia law, your right to freely exercise your faith – to live according to your beliefs – are ]sic ] a second, or even third, class right. If the government just has a “rational base” for a plan that tramples on your most divine right, you are left wholly exposed to government dictatorship.
That’s because Georgia is one of just 11 remaining states in the country – joining communist strongholds like New York and California – that does not require strict attention religious liberty privileges.
A provincial slave in our state has more spiritual privileges than you do.
But does everyone dwelling in a position within the footprints of the Southeastern Conference.
You’d have to walk as far north as Maryland or as far north as Colorado to find a position that treats spiritual freedom as cavalierly as Georgia does in a court (emphasis in the initial ).
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” Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability” with certain exceptions under SB 36. Muzio calls the bill a” compromise” because it’s less specific than other states ‘ protections, even though it matches federal RFRA language.
RFRA in Georgia has had a long history of fits and starts. Nathan Deal, Kemp’s predecessor in the Governor’s Mansion, made vague promises throughout his two terms in office. However, he caved to big business and vetoed every religious liberty bill that came to his desk— exactly what you would expect from a politician who spent decades as a Democrat before switching parties in the ‘ 90s.
Flashback:  , In Bid for Amazon HQ, Georgia Politicians Abandon Religious Liberty Promises
Kemp has proven that Georgia can bring large companies in, protect small businesses, and promote conservative values at the same time. That truth still hasn’t taken the controversy out of the yearly RFRA debate.
Muzio wrote on Tuesday, “you know how Georgia is frequently cited as the# 1 state to do business? Within the top 15 pro-business states, Georgia stands ALONE as the ONLY state that does not treat religious freedom as a first class right”.
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” In fact, Georgia is the only Republican controlled state that lacks RFRA protections”, he added.
Thirty nine other states have RFRA protections. Every state in the SEC footprint. Every Republican controlled state. Every other state in the Top 15 to do business. Let’s get this done, Georgia! #gapol https ://t.co/fEHkUqFvwx— Cole Muzio (@ColeMuzio ) March 11, 2025
Like Deal, some GOP politicians in Georgia fear a backlash. And the pushback against RFRA comes from the same corners every year.
Last year, the Associated Press quoted the mother of a transgender child ( naturally ) who said that RFRA represents intentional discrimination. Of course, she said so with the most dramatic rhetoric imaginable.
” Anyone with a heart and a handful of brain cells can see this bill for what it is”, Elizabeth Wagner told a Senate committee. ” It is open hunting season on trans youth in Georgia”.
” I prefer that the government indeed has a compelling interest in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people who could otherwise be discriminated against under the guise of religious freedom”, the ACLU’s Sarah Hunt-Blackwell told the Georgia Recorder in 2024. Of course, she would.
However, Muzio pointed out,” Since 2021, eight states have joined the growing number of RFRA states and experienced nothing in the way of backlash”.
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We can’t miss the importance of RFRA in a culture that is growing increasingly hostile toward people of faith, even in reliably red states and even with a Republican in the White House. Legislation like this demonstrates a commitment to allowing people to live according to the beliefs they cherish most deeply. Hopefully, the General Assembly will do the right thing and pass SB 36 without amendments that water down the protection of this cherished freedom.
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