With 12 Days to Go, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Wants Republican Leaders to Oppose Religious Liberty

Georgia is facing a very close election. Public polling has the Democrat leading the Republican for the U.S. Senate seat. The Republican Governor is neck and neck with Jimmy Carter’s grandson. And Georgia’s Chamber of Commerce today wants Georgia’s Republicans to publicly stand against Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and religious liberty in general. Many of the state’s Republican leaders will do exactly that because they are so beholden to the Georgia Chamber.

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It would be a very good time, with twelve days left, for conservatives to get Republicans in Georgia on the record to find out if they support religious liberty. Georgians have twelve days to get public pledges from their legislative and executive leaders on whether they would protect Georgia’s small businesses from persecution. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce wants to make Christians care in Georgia.

Georgia’s Republicans need every vote they can muster, but conservatives need some immediate assurances the GOP will support religious liberty protections in return for a vote.

As you know, the federal government has a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It is that very act that saved Hobby Lobby from being forced to pay for abortions. It was that very act that saved Catholic charities from having to violate their religious faith in the name of Obamacare.

But that law only applies to the federal government. A number of states have state-level equivalents. Georgia is not one of them. More troubling, Georgia is trending toward the left and has no religious liberty protections in place for the millions of Georgians who run small businesses based on their Christian values.

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In states around the country, it is the state level religious liberty legislation that has protected committed Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others from being forced to provide goods and services against their will in gay marriage ceremonies.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is opposed to faithful people being able to consciously object. Why? Because the Chamber is scared of the gay mafia that threatens boycotts. The businesses that fund the Chamber are scared of boycotts and people not liking them. Delta, Coca-Cola, SunTrust Bank, Georgia Power, Home Depot and other major corporations joined with Georgia’s Chamber of Commerce last year to oppose religious liberty protections.

The Chamber of Commerce is now drawing a line in the sand claiming it will oppose religious liberty protections this coming year.

With Georgia trending against the GOP, the time is short to put in place a state level Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Protecting religious liberty is broadly popular across racial demographics in Georgia. It is just the well off, rich, white business leaders in Georgia who are scared of being disliked by popular culture who insist on stopping this legislation.

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More importantly, there are just twelve days left to ask people on the ballot: Do you stand for religious liberty or with the Chamber of Commerce? You should demand an answer now and get them on the record — then hold them to their public statements.

And if Georgia’s Republicans will not now, before the election, stand with Christians and faith based small businesses to protect their liberties, the next question that should be asked is why should any of us stand with them.

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