Georgia lawmakers adjourn without vote on religious freedom bill

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McKoon and other supporters have said the bill is modeled on 1993’s federal Restoration of Religious Freedom Act and argue that the federal law and versions in other states have never been used to successfully defend discrimination.

But critics say the GOP lawmakers behind the bills have been deceptive about that comparison, and note that the federal law, and those in other states, only apply to government action and do not extend to individuals and for-profit corporations, as the Georgia bill did, and the original versions in Indiana and Arkansas.

Eventually, the Indiana and Arkansas bills were revised; protections for LGBT individuals were added to the Indiana law, and Arkansas removed language that covered individuals and for-profit businesses.

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The GOP-controlled Georgia Senate easily its bill in March, but backlash in Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed that state’s bill into law prompted Ralston to repeatedly question what the bill could add to constitutional protection for religion.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal told reporters Thursday that he expects the issue to return next year but wouldn’t speculate about the details of future legislation.

“I think we all understand that this is a difficult decision,” Deal said. “I hope that if and when it comes to my desk in the future that it will not have the same kind of divisiveness associated with it that has been experienced in those two states.”