ATLANTA — It's a controversial bill that some say will allow legal discrimination against gay couples. But sponsors of the bill claim it will prevent the state from forcing faith-based agencies to violate their religious beliefs.
Senate Bill 375, dubbed by some critics the "religious liberties" bill, states "child-placing agencies have the right to provide services in accordance with the agency's sincerely held religious beliefs." If the bill passes, families like Carlos Hill's said it would legalize discrimination.
Hill and his husband got married 13 years ago and knew they wanted a family. It took them 11 years to adopt a child, but he said adoption agencies closed the doors on them.
"We were told it would be a while, or 'you may want to seek other options' or look somewhere else so that way it's faster, or we can make sure that it's done for you," Hill explained to 11Alive's Natisha Lance. "It felt like discrimination."
But advocates of the bill contend the bill is not for the purpose of discriminating against anybody. Mike Griffin is a lobbyist for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board who favors the bill. Griffin said all the bill is meant to do is protect the first amendment rights of faith-based agencies.
"We think that faith based agencies deserve to have the constitutional protection that they need in order to carry out their mission statement," Griffin maintained.
Right now, there are about 14,000 children in the foster care system across the state, and supporters of the bill believe if it passes, more faith-based agencies would be encouraged to open in Georgia, placing more kids with families. When it comes to Hill, though, he said he believes there should be no limitations imposed on who can help children in need.
"These children are the ones who are suffering, no one else," he said.
Opponents take their argument further, cautioning it could have a major, negative effect on Georgia's economy, especially when it comes to the state's film industry. It could also harm recruitment of future prospects like Amazon's HQ2, said Jeff Graham with Georgia Equality.
"A lot of these businesses have been very clear that they don’t want to come to a state that is not going to be open and welcome and wanting to do business with all people," he said.
The bill is expected to be heard on the state Senate floor Friday, where opponents are confident it will pass a full Senate vote.
