The prayers of faithful Georgians were answered in a major way this morning with a massive victory in House Judiciary Committee.

Our friend, Rep. Matt Reeves graciously offered a clean up amendment to the bill to restore SB 36 to its original form, a mirror to the federal RFRA. I’m personally very grateful for his leadership in making this happen.

With that amendment offered – and defended against quixotic, last ditch efforts of confusion by leftists on the Committee – the members, for the first time in the House, moved a federal-mirror RFRA beyond this crucial step. Praise the Lord for this historic victory!

There is still a major battle ahead. Special interests are unlikely to go quietly, and we will have to engage heavily to ensure final passage and that this bill reaches the Governor’s desk!

In the meantime, I’d ask you to send a quick note of thanks to the following members who made this possible:

Buddy DeLoach: [email protected]

Soo Hong: [email protected]

Todd Jones: [email protected]

Trey Kelley: [email protected]

Tyler Paul Smith: [email protected]

Rob Leverett: [email protected]

Martin Momtahan: [email protected]

Matt Reeves: [email protected]

Mitchell Scoggins: [email protected]

Committee Chairman Stan Gunter: [email protected]

And, please take a moment to thank our heroic bill sponsor, Sen. Ed Setzler: [email protected]

For Georgia, this has been a long battle. Since the original RFRA was vetoed, the faith community has been pushing for victory on this issue. In 2018, Governor Kemp promised to sign a mirror of the federal RFRA, and he has stood by that promise.

Different Senate bills have been offered through the years, with Sen. Marty Harbin and Sen. Ed Setzler providing lead voices. Over the last two years, the strong leadership of Lt. Governor Burt Jones has resulted is passage of the bill out of the Senate, and now we are praying the House will do the same.

We believe that Speaker Jon Burns, a man of strong faith, is ready to get this final victory done!

We will continue to be vigilant. We will continue to oppose any and all efforts to amend this bill. And, we will come alongside and support all who take the bold step of securing religious freedom for Georgians.

With Humility,