ATLANTA – A bill headed toward a vote in the Georgia Senate would allow faith-based organizations to refuse services to same-sex couples without government penalties, including loss of taxpayer funding.
The powerful Senate Rules committee on Tuesday added that language to a bill unanimously approved by the House last week allowing religious officials to decline performing same-sex marriage ceremonies. The move combines two of the eight bills introduced this year seeking legal exemptions for opponents of same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling effectively legalized the unions.
The bill protecting pastors, however, received little opposition on its way to a House vote. Gay rights advocates though harshly criticized the broader Senate bill, known as the “First Amendment Defense Act,” shielding adoption agencies, schools and other organizations from penalty for opposing same-sex marriage.
Gay rights advocates condemned the bill as dangerous for same-sex couples, while Senate Democrats warned it could prompt boycotts of Georgia companies and allow refusal of service to unmarried couples or single parents.
Georgia’s business community also remains leery of any bill that could prompt boycott threats Indiana received in 2015 following passage of a different religious measure. In a joint statement Tuesday, officials with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce said they worked with senators to “help improve the bill.”