Former Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal drew national attention in 2016 when he vetoed a religious liberty bill that opponents argued would result in discrimination against LGBTQ people.
But over roughly the next decade, supporters did not give up. When a similar measure passed again this spring, Gov. Brian Kemp promptly signed it into law with far less outcry.
Jeff Graham, the executive director of Georgia Equality, the state’s leading LGBTQ advocacy group, is among the Georgia advocates and strategists reflecting on what changed during that time.
“I think the simple answer is that the entire country has shifted far to the right,” Graham says.
The more complex explanation, Graham and others say, highlights an evolving discourse over race, sex and gender, with implications for electoral politics, the corporate world and American life more broadly.
A team of WABE reporters takes a deeper look at the issues affecting LGBTQ people in Georgia. Plus, LGBTQ Atlantans in their own words, Pride events calendar, LGBTQ coverage from other NPR stations across the South and more.
How a religious liberty bill brought Georgia national attention
At Georgia Equality headquarters, Graham’s office is covered in mementos, including an advertisement that ran in 2016 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Two hundred seventy two Georgia clergy oppose discrimination in the name of religion,” the full-page ad proclaims in big letters.
That spring, a bill called the “Free Exercise Protection Act” had landed on the governor’s desk, and Georgia Equality was in an all-out fight to stop it, gathering 75,000 emails to the governor urging a veto. Volunteers hand-delivered them in 30 boxes to the State Capitol.
Supporters of the measures, often known as Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, or RFRAs, say they ensure the government meets a high bar before infringing on religious beliefs or practices. Critics say these laws open the door to allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people.
“If you look back at it, it is a defense of religious freedom and that religious freedom can coexist with tolerance. It really was a beautiful speech, but I think it was one that he agonized over.”
Brian Robinson, longtime staffer for former Gov. Nathan Deal
While a federal RFRA passed with bipartisan support in 1993, by the 2010s, proposals to enact state-level laws were spurring outcry in places like Indiana and then Georgia.
The U.S. Supreme Court had just legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, and corporate America was embracing efforts to expand LGBTQ rights.
Atlanta-based corporate heavyweights like Delta and Coca-Cola opposed the legislation, as did hometown teams the Braves and the Falcons. Entertainment companies such as Disney threatened to boycott the state, just as Georgia’s film and TV industry was beginning to boom.
Former Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal announces his veto of a controversial religious liberty bill in 2016. (AP Photo)
The target of all of that pressure was Deal.
“I think he weighed this very heavily until the bitter end,” remembers longtime staffer Brian Robinson, who says the governor wrote his own remarks to announce the veto – by hand.
“That just goes to show you how personal it was,” Robinson says.
“I believe it is about the character of our state and the character of our people. Georgia is a welcoming state,” Deal told reporters. “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of all of our lives.”
“If you look back at it, it is a defense of religious freedom and that religious freedom can coexist with tolerance,” Robinson says. “It really was a beautiful speech, but I think it was one that he agonized over.”
Deal declined comment for this story through a spokesperson.
Robinson says Deal’s ultimate decision to veto the bill was practical, not ideological. He says the governor was not convinced RFRA would harm LGBTQ Georgians, but it did seem likely the legislation could result in corporations leaving the state just as Georgia was climbing out from the recession.
What changed since the first RFRA showdown
That was nearly a decade ago. When a similar religious liberty measure passed this spring in the final days of the legislative session, Democrats and LGBTQ allies again opposed it. Two House Republicans voted no. But this time, corporations did not threaten boycotts. The governor did not agonize.
“Today I signed SB 36, also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, ensuring that once again at the state level, that Georgians are protected, including Georgians of faith,” Kemp said in April. “I wanted to let everybody know that despite signing that legislation, Georgia still remains a state that has no place for hate, and I can assure all Georgians of that today.”
“RFRA is not any better now than it was in 2016. But there is great urgency to fight [other] pieces of legislation that cause immediate and irreversible harm.”
Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham
About 30 states now have similar religious liberty laws, though opponents note that Georgia does not have a comprehensive state civil rights statute.
“It was just relief that the nonsense that’s confused the public about what the Religious Freedom Restoration Act simply does was finally over,” says Republican State Sen. Ed Setzler, who for years had been a driving force trying to pass a religious liberty law in Georgia.
Setzler says pandemic-era restrictions on large gatherings helped reframe the debate.
“Folks saw those kinds of extreme actions by government shut down people’s basic practice of faith,” Setzler says. “Folks said, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve got to put protections in place.”
Graham sees another explanation. He points to the climate surrounding the 2024 election of President Donald Trump, who has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion. Groups like Georgia Equality have also had to triage, pivoting more resources to opposing new bills targeting transgender people.
“RFRA is not any better now than it was in 2016,” Graham says. “But there is great urgency to fight [other] pieces of legislation that cause immediate and irreversible harm.”
Still, Graham says LGBTQ advocates have not ruled out challenging the law in court.
Robinson says corporations are also prioritizing other fights in this political environment, like tariffs. And amid backlash, many companies are now retreating from debates over race, gender and sexuality. While the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce opposed RFRA again this year, there was no full-court press.
“We believe it is best to focus on issues like civil justice reform, infrastructure, and workforce development, which move our state forward and improve the quality of life for all Georgians,” the chambers wrote in a joint statement in March.
“I talk to people in the business community and they say, ‘We’re against it, we don’t need it. But we’re not going to die on this hill right now,” Robinson says.
Another indication of the shift: Robinson says he thinks if Deal was governor today and the Georgia religious liberty bill came to his desk, he would sign it.
This story is part of the ongoing series Beyond Pride, in which WABE reporters take a deeper look at the issues affecting LGBTQ people in Georgia. Plus, hear LGBTQ Atlantans in their own words, check out a Pride events calendar running through the fall, LGBTQ coverage from other NPR stations across the South and more.
