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 The legislation, dubbed the Religious Liberty Bill, still has to
be signed by Georgia's Republican Governor Nathan Deal to become
law. Deal has made clear that he will not sign a bill that allows
discrimination, but his office did not immediately respond to
request for comment on Wednesday night.
Similar bills in states like Indiana and Arkansas sparked storms of
criticism last year, forcing many lawmakers to retreat from the
provisions.
The Georgia bill, reworked several times by lawmakers amid criticism
that earlier versions went too far, declares that no pastor can be
forced to perform a same-sex wedding.
The bill also grants faith-based organizations – churches, religious
schools or associations - the right to reject holding events for
people or groups of whom they object. Faith-based groups also could
not be forced to hire or retain an employee whose beliefs run
counter to the organization's.
 Opponents say the bill could be used to deny services and
discriminate against same-sex couples.
"The decision by the legislature today was to make an egregious and
discriminatory bill even worse," the Human Rights Campaign, which
represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community,
said in a statement.
"It's appalling that anti-equality extremists in the legislature are
trying to ignore the will of the people of Georgia," it said.
Mike Griffin, a lobbyist and spokesman for the Georgia Baptist
Convention, applauded the bill's passage. He said that while the
bill did not give them everything they wanted, he added: "We feel
we’ve advanced our protection of our First Amendment Right to
religious freedom."
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"Our rights of religious liberty don't end inside the four walls of
a church," he said.
In a late added amendment, the proposed law says that it cannot
allow discrimination already prohibited by federal law, which
opponents said could nullify some of its provisions.
More than 300 large corporations and small businesses, including
Delta Airlines and Coca Cola have signed a pledge decrying the
Georgia legislation and urging the state lawmakers to drop it.
The state legislature is set to wrap up its current legislative
session on Friday.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Curtis Skinner and
Michael Perry)
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