Greg Chafuen, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), says it is fantastic that Governor Brian Kemp (R) has signed the state's version of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law, rejecting the Democrats' claims that it gives license to discriminate.
The Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Senate Bill 36) declares, "Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability." The government may "substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is" either "in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest" or "the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest."
The measure also allows a person whose religious freedom has been violated the opportunity to seek legal recourse. It states, "'Exercise of religion' means any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief, including, but not limited to, the practice or observance of religion under Paragraphs III and IV of Section I, Article I of the Constitution of this state or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."
Entities prohibited under the bill from burdening a person's "exercise of religion" include "any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official or other person acting under color of law of this state, or any political subdivision of this state."
Chafuen says a federal RFRA has been in place since the 1990s, but "the federal law only applies to federal law."
"Each state needs to have their own in order for the religious freedom rights of their own people to be protected from state laws that burden their religious rights," the attorney explains.
This is necessary because of a Supreme Court decision from 35 years ago that severely limited First Amendment religious freedom rights.
When a state passes a RFRA, it protects all people of faith. So, for example, a person with a religious belief about keeping a long beard or having long hair could not be forced to trim it because of a government rule or regulation.
"There's a Christian ministry that's trying to outreach to the poor, whether it's the homeless or the imprisoned in the halfway house. Those are groups that are being burdened by state laws that are just either overlooking religion or sometimes perhaps intentionally trying to target them and push them out of a certain sphere," Chafuen gives as another example.
"This is why RFRAs are practical," he concludes. "They work in practice, and they're great news for any state that's willing to pass one."
Gov. Kemp signed the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law after it passed in the Republican-controlled Georgia Senate in a 32-23 vote on March 4 and cleared the Republican-controlled Georgia House of Representatives in a 96-70 vote Wednesday.
Georgia is now the 30th state with a state level Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
