By: Russell Dye
SB 377 currently sits in the Georgia legislature awaiting decision. This bill, sponsored by three Republican state senators, would allow businesses, individuals, and other organizations to refuse service to homosexuals if serving homosexuals violated the religious beliefs or freedoms of the business, individual, or organization in question. If, for example, a homosexual citizen walked into a store, the owner would have the right to turn away that customer and ask him or her to leave the premises if shopping in the owner’s store violated owner’s religious beliefs.
Georgia Republicans should not support or pass this bill. The stem of my argument is not derived from moral reasons, though. Georgia Republicans should not pass this bill strictly due to political ones. If the bill were to be passed, Georgia Republicans, and the state legislature, would be immediately thrown into an unneeded and embarrassing firestorm of debate regarding the issue of homosexuality and the bill itself. There is absolutely no way Georgia Republicans can win politically if this bill passes, especially in the midst of an election year. It would hurt them more than help, which is why they should distance themselves from it quickly and immediately.
This type of legislation is not the first of its kind. The Arizona state legislature recently passed a similar bill in both houses of its legislature. Fortunately for Arizona Republicans, Gov. Jan Brewer, also a Republican, vetoed the bill and possibly saved Arizona Republicans from an even greater political fallout. Nonetheless, the vetoing of the Arizona bill has not stopped Georgia Republicans from modeling their own bill after the one presented in Arizona. Georgia Republicans should follow Arizona’s lead and kill the bill in its tracks before it gains too much attention.
All of this comes at a time when the Republican Party is in the midst of rebranding itself. Since the 2012 elections, top Republicans have tried shifting their party’s ideals back to the promises of limited government, reducing taxes, and promoting individual liberties, rather than focusing too much on promoting hardline social conservatism. This strategy would pay off if all Republicans were to buy into the idea, especially since two-thirds of Americans believe government has grown to be too big in recent years. However, if hardline social conservatism is continuously preached and brought up in bills like SB 377, conservatives will continue to go home unhappy on election day. All it takes to see that is a simple reminder of what happened to Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock on election day in 2012. Both men drew too hard of a line in the sand over social issues, and both men went home as embarrassing losers. If Georgia Republicans do not learn from Akin and Mourdock’s mistakes, they too could go home empty handed, even in a state as red as Georgia.
All in all, the political repercussions of passing this bill far outweigh any benefits it may bring to the socially conservative constituents of the legislature members who support it. SB 377’s passage will not be good for the party in the long run and could cause an already vulnerable Georgia Republican party to possibly falter in the upcoming midterm elections. Though some Republicans can argue that serving homosexuals in their private businesses violates their First Amendment rights, in the end, this bill will do nothing more than continue to paint the GOP as close-minded, hateful, and secluded. It will also continue to chase away independents and casual voters from voting for the party, and in today’s electorate the GOP cannot afford to lose any more precious support.
Former President Ronald Reagan once said that, “Reality may be a rough road, but escape from it is a precipice.” Yes, some social conservatives may be upset if the bill doesn’t pass, and yes, some will be upset if the Republican Party begins to focus less and less on preserving social conservatism within the party; however, reality is indeed a rough road, and social conservatives need to face the fact that their way of thinking may not be able to win elections anymore in today’s modern electorate. Therefore, I challenge Georgia Republicans in the legislature to refrain from supporting this bill, and if Republicans want to sustain electability in our state, they should continue to exclusively support smaller government, reducing taxes, and promoting liberty to all of God’s children.
