Georgia
‘Religious freedom,’ advances on Legislature’s deadline day, Georgia culture wars rage on • Georgia Recorder
Thursday was Crossover Day in the Georgia Legislature, the deadline for bills to easily pass from either the House or the Senate, and culture war partisans had a few reasons to celebrate, or mourn, depending on point of view.
After years of trying, the Senate passed the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, a longtime dream of conservative politicians and activists.
Conservative politicians and activists also made one of their newer dreams come true with the passage of a bill cutting ties with the American Library Association, a library support and accrediting body some Republicans say has become too progressive.
Other culture war issues did not make the cut, including bills aimed at school bathroom and library use.
Religious Freedom
Eight years after then-Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a controversial religious freedom bill, a different bill with the same aim passed the state Senate.
Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler’s Senate Bill 180 states that the government may
“substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” only if it does so “in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest” and “the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest.”
Setzler gave examples including a Muslim woman in Florida who could not remove her facial covering to be photographed for a driver’s license. Setzler said Florida’s religious freedom law allowed her to be photographed in a private room by a woman.
“It largely helps people in minority religious space, but it doesn’t provide everybody of course, to make sure the government has to prove a compelling reason, and in accomplishing the compelling reason, they do that in the least restrictive means possible. The decency, the human decency, of allowing the Muslim woman, who piously believes she needs to wear a full face guard in public, allowing her to have her photo for her driver’s license made in a private room by a female photographer.”
Decency wasn’t the word on Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson’s mind. Jackson, the state’s first and only openly LGBTQ+ senator, called the bill a “permission slip” to discriminate against families like hers.
“This is my reality and my fear,” she said. “My fear that my child’s daycare can turn us away. That a hotel can refuse me entry. That we can be denied access to any number of services that every other Georgian has rights to. The gas station that refuses service, the restaurant that won’t seat us, the physician who denies care for my child, all because they have a religious objection toward me and my family. Across the country, RFRAs have already opened the door for discrimination in public health, child welfare and adoptions, marriage-related services, employment, and public accommodations.”
Deal’s veto of the previous religious freedom legislation came amid pressure from major Georgia-based businesses that said the legislation could make it harder to attract workers to the state.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce released a joint statement opposing Senate Bill 180.
“For decades, Georgia has benefited from a positive working relationship between the business community and our elected leaders to promote our state as a center for global commerce. Georgia’s stable governance attracts industry and has served our citizens well, and we oppose any efforts, including SB 180, that would undermine the state’s strong reputation we have built together,” the business group’s statement said.
Cole Muzio, president of the influential conservative lobbying group Frontline Policy Action, celebrated the bill’s passage.
“Passage of RFRA by the state Senate brings us one step closer toward restoring our nation’s founding right,” he said in an email to supporters. “The balancing test provided in SB 180 is fair, right, consistent with federal law and in accordance with what Gov. Kemp campaigned on.”
If Gov. Brian Kemp is to sign or veto the bill, it will first need to pass the state House. It will have until the legislative session is set to gavel out March 28 to do so.
Libraries
A watered-down version of a bill pulling Georgia out from the American Library Association made it through the Senate. Author Sen. Larry Walker, a Perry Republican, said he got clued in on the ALA after his local library used an ALA grant to buy books about diversity and LGBTQ+ issues, some of which he said were in the children’s section.
He said he went on to find out the current ALA president described herself in a tweet as a Marxist lesbian.
“Prior to taking on this issue, I put libraries in the same category as mom and apple pie, and I was shocked to find that the havens for learning that I envisioned where children’s imaginations could run free and unhindered to find inspiration for their future and the legacy of knowledge accumulated by civil society could become a political battleground for a radical agenda pushed down by this Chicago organization, the American Library Association.”
The ALA accredits the schools that train librarians, and Walker said under his bill, Georgia universities must pay for that accreditation with private funds rather than state money. Libraries in the state cannot use private funds or state money to become members of the ALA.
Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent characterized the bill as a political ploy and referenced data showing Georgia near the bottom of the rankings for child literacy by state.
“I really, colleagues, do find it deeply ironic, in a state where two-thirds of kids cannot read on grade level, that we have so many more bills addressing what children should or should not be able to read, instead of focusing on the actual five-alarm fire problem, the problem that many of them cannot read well, if at all. That is the problem that we should be discussing today. That is the money we should be discussing putting into our budget.”
Ahead of their time
Several bills hoped for or dreaded by culture warriors failed to make it to the all-important deadline.
Bills ending sex education for elementary schoolers, making school librarians liable for distributing materials deemed harmful to minors and restricting transgender students to the bathroom matching the gender listed on their birth certificates did not move forward.
But fans of culture clashes should not grieve or celebrate just yet. Crossover day marks the end of a bill’s ability to pass the smoothest way, but “dead” bills can find new life if grafted to other legislation, sometimes in surprising ways.
NORCROSS, GEORGIA — Geoff Duncan, former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, won’t stop apologizing.
He’s sorry for supporting the state’s 2019 “heartbeat bill,” which bans abortion at around six weeks, after a fetal heartbeat is detected. He’s sorry for facilitating the passage of a “constitutional carry” bill in 2022, which allows most people to carry a concealed handgun with no license or background check. He’s also sorry for opposing Medicaid expansion, arguing at the time that it was not fiscally responsible.
“I’m sorry for those positions and any harm that they may have done,” Duncan told me.
Duncan first rose to prominence as one of the Republicans who resisted President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 win in Georgia. Duncan has been speaking out against what he calls Trump’s “toxic” and “dangerous” Republican Party since leaving office in 2023, and even endorsed Kamala Harris and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2024. After being excommunicated from the Georgia Republican Party in January 2025, Duncan switched parties in August. He is now running for governor as a Democrat in what will be one of the most closely watched races in the midterms.
Georgia Tech didn’t let the weekend get away.
The No. 2 Yellow Jackets were flying high with a 13-game win streak heading into the weekend showdown against No. 3 North Carolina. The Tar Heels took the first two games, but Tech salvaged the finale 5-2 on Sunday.
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 2 Georgia Tech got back to its winning ways, defeating No. 3 North Carolina (33-7-1, 15-6 ACC) by a final score of 5-2 from Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Yellow Jackets (32-7, 16-5 ACC) held UNC in check from the third inning on, using 6.1 scoreless innings from Caden Gaudette and Mason Patel to salvage the series and collect its 10th Top 15 victory of the season for this first time this century.
After both teams traded runs in the first inning, the Jackets struck for three runs on three hits in the third. The inning started with a leadoff double from Drew Burress who was quickly brought to the plate by a single from Jarren Advincula. Vahn Lackey drew a walk off a full count before Kent Schmidt connected for an RBI double, bringing in Advincula for what would become the game-winning run. Lackey made it a three-run inning when he scored on an RBI groundout by Ryan Zuckerman. UNC would work the bases loaded and score a run in the bottom of the inning before Gaudette entered the game and induced an inning ending groundout. UNC wouldn’t get another runner into scoring position until the eight inning as Gaudette and Patel slammed the door on any potential comeback.
QUICK HITS: TEAM
- The Jackets improve to 32-7, the best start to a season since 2010. Tech is 16-5 in ACC play, the best start since 2011.
- Tech has won 32 of its first 39 games for only the 6th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2003 2002, 1997, 1993 and now 2026.
- James Ramsey owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 39 games (32-7).
- The Jackets improve to 8-1 in nationally televised games this season.
- Tech has now won 10 games over Top 15 opponents for the first time this century.
- Tech has scored 417 runs through their first 39 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 39 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 39 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
- The Jackets scoring average now stands at 10.7 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
- GT is outscoring its opponents 417-174, that +243 margin is the highest through 39 games in program history.
- The bullpen delivered 6.1 scoreless innings, marking the 15th scoreless outing of the season and second of the weekend.
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Junior Drew Burress produced his 17th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
- He has scored 51 runs this season, one shy of Vahn Lackey for the most on the team. Burress has scored 201 runs over his career, tied with Danny Payne (2005-07) for the 11th most in Georgia Tech history.
- He becomes the first Yellow Jacket in the BBCOR era to record 200+ runs over a career.
- Junior Kent Schmidt went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead RBI double and a shift-beating bunt.
- He leads the team with 26 RBI in ACC play and has delivered 35 for the season.
- Schmidt has now collected extra base hits in three straight games for the first time this season and third time in his GT career.
- He finishes the series with a .500 average, going 4-for-8 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI, two runs scored and three walks
- Junior Jarren Advincula recorded his 24th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
- He leads the ACC with 68 hits this season, averaging 1.7 hits per game and putting him on pace for 94 hits over the course of the regular season. With potential postseason games, that would put him in striking distance of being the first 100-hit player at GT since 2005 (Wes Hodges & Tyler Greene).
- He drove in his 45th RBI of the season, the third most on the team behind Vahn Lackey and Ryan Zuckerman.
- Junior Ryan Zuckerman became the first Jacket to reach 50 RBI when he drove in Lackey for the fourth run of the game.
- Sophomore Caleb Daniel came off the bench in the 5th inning and blooped an RBI double, it was his 24th RBI of the season and his 5th as a pinch hitter.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Sophomore Jackson Blakely made his sixth consecutive weekend start, pitching 2.2 innings with two earned runs allowed and three strikeouts.
- He has only allowed runs in only three of his eight appearances this season (37.1 innings) this season.
- His ERA stands at 2.65, the lowest among all starting pitchers on the roster.
- R-junior Caden Gaudette made his team-leading 16th appearance of the season and 2nd of the weekend, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings.
- He entered the game with a two-run lead (4-2) and the bases loaded with two outs before inducing an inning ending groundout to short.
- Gaudette lowers his ERA to 2.86 in 22.0 innings of work.
- The man they call “Rock” pitched a total of 3.1 innings this weekend, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts.
- He has now pitched as many innings this season as he had in his previous two years combined (22.0) while allowing less than half as many earned runs (7 in 2026, 15 in 2024-25) and exactly half as many hits (12 in 2026, 24 in 2024-25).
- Mason Patel got the ball to start the 6th inning, keeping the score at 5-2 for the final four frames and collecting his fourth save of the season.
- Since recovering from an injury that saw him miss 20 days, Patel has made six appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 13.2 scoreless innings with a victory and four saves.
- Over the last two seasons, Patel has made 29 appearances out of the bullpen, posting 12 wins and nine saves.
- This was his longest relief appearance of the season (4.0 innings) after pitching at least 3.0 innings in 15 of his 23 appearances during his All-American season last year.
Up Next
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Tuesday at 7 pm at Truist Park. Tickets are available HERE with all proceeds benefiting the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
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