Georgia legislature passes controversial religious freedom bill amidst partisan tensions

ATLANTA - The final two days of the 2025 legislative session in Georgia have once again proved to be active, if not controversial.

The penultimate day proved to be full of partisan tensions under the Gold Dome.

Republicans and Democrats at odds over DEI and RFRA

What they're saying:

Senate Bill 36, the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, is now headed to Governor Brian Kemp's desk despite efforts by House Democrats to kill the bill. Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Atlanta) opposes the legislation. She told House members, "I want to protect religion, and luckily I don't need to pass a law to do that. The federal constitution and the state constitution do that for me."

Wednesday's vote was a victory for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and other conservative religious groups lobbying for the bill's passage. Supporters insist the 'Religious Freedom Restoration Act' ensures people of faith basic religious protections at the state and local level. "We want to make sure that freedom of religion has the same standard that freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly have," Georgia Baptist Mission Board spokesman Mike Griffin told FOX 5.

The other side:

Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham and others who oppose the legislation insist it would allow people to use their religion as a free pass to discriminate against the LGBTQ community and others. "In other states where we have seen this, we have seen it used by Christian adoption agencies to turn away Catholic and Jewish couples who want to adopt children. We've seen it used in Texas to hold access to contraception and HIV prevention services. We've heard of instances where police officers have said they don't want to provide security to mosques and synagogues, and of course, there are numerous examples of gay and lesbian couples as they seek basic everyday services."

Lawmakers are also at odds over the DEI bill

Dig deeper:

Also this week, Senate Republicans advanced a DEI bill, over the objection of Democrats, that would ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in all state public schools and universities. "The Republican party said they are going to take Georgia backwards to days when people didn't have full rights, and that's exactly what it was; it cannot be any clearer than that," Sen. Harold Jones II (D-Augusta) told reporters following the vote.