Georgia bill aims to protect religious liberty. Opponents say it’s a license to discriminate

By JEFF AMY
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers are revisiting a nearly decade-old fight over whether the state needs to protect religious rights from being trampled by state and local governments. But opponents say the measure would provide a legal shield for people and groups to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in the name of religion. A Senate committee passed the measure Thursday, sending it to the full Senate for more debate. Then-Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, vetoed a different version of the religious liberty bill in 2016 under pressure from Georgia’s business community. Also Thursday, a House subcommittee advanced a measure that would ban transgender students in public schools from using the bathroom that meets their current gender identity.