As you read this email, you need to know something: you do not have the First Amendment rights that you think you have.

That’s why we are sending a clear message to our friends at the Capitol: pass SB 36, the “Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” without amendments, now!

In the Georgia law, your right to freely exercise your faith – to live according to your beliefs – are a second, or even third, class right. If the government simply has a “rational basis” for a policy that tramples on your most sacred right, you are left utterly exposed to government tyranny.

That’s because Georgia is one of just 11 remaining states in the country – joining leftist strongholds like New York and California – that does not require strict scrutiny religious freedom protections.

A federal prisoner in our state has more religious protections than you do.

So does everyone living in a state within the footprint of the Southeastern Conference.

You’d have to move as far north as Maryland or as far west as Colorado to find a state that treats religious freedom as flippantly as Georgia does in a courtroom.

And, you know how Georgia is frequently cited as the #1 state to do business? Within the top 15 pro-business states, Georgia stands ALONE as the ONLY state that does not treat religious freedom as a first class right.

In fact, Georgia is the only Republican controlled state that lacks RFRA protections.

Now is the time to change this sad fact.

Georgia has the most conservative Governor in its history, the man who kept churches open, signed the Heartbeat Law, and pledged to sign this very bill when he campaigned for this office.

We have the most conservative Lt. Governor in our history, the most conservative Speaker in our history, and a conservative resurgence among the membership of both Chambers.

The political and media opposition to his effort has failed to gain traction, and waves of momentum following November’s Vote for Sanity continue to strengthen our position.

Since 2021, eight states have joined the growing number of RFRA states and experienced nothing in the way of backlash.

There is, quite simply, no excuse to fail to make RFRA the law of the land in 2025. It’s the right thing to do. The politics are with us. And, the momentum is at our side.

Senate Bill 36, sponsored by Sen. Ed Setzler, is a mirror to the federal RFRA language. It is language that then-candidate Brian Kemp pledged to sign. As our Governor, he has reiterated that pledge.

We have worked on this language and confirmed that this matches his intention.

The language in SB 36 is fair, and it is balanced. It is, in many ways, a “compromise.” Other states have granted more specificity in religious freedom protections. This bill grants none.

Instead, it provides a legal argument and a balancing test. It restores a constitutional framework, and it does not pick winners and losers.

For these reasons, any attempt to amend the bill, undermine Governor Kemp’s promise and language, or minimize the effects or fairness of SB 36 as written, must be defeated.

There is, now, no excuse for this not to become the law. Knowing the caliber of men and women representing us and leading their respective Chambers, I have full confidence that they will support this cause and do the right thing.

My prayer is that we are on the verge of a great victory and cause for celebration, and, to that end, I – and this organization – are resolved to stand with those who will side with people of faith in our state and to speak with clarity toward those who may be inclined to oppose this movement.

To Victory,