An initiative to change the Georgia Constitution to lift any prohibitions on the state paying for social services delivered by faith-based organizations will likely resurface during the 2007 session of the General Assembly.
Gov. Sonny Perdue revealed the item as part of a key component of his 2007 legislative agenda during a Dec. 12 speech to lawmakers in Athens. The idea, which Perdue has long touted, was previously defeated in the General Assembly, and remains controversial in the eyes of gay activists.
“There are a number of pitfalls, schemes, and underhanded intentions involved in this,” said Larry Pellegrini, a gay rights activist and legislative lobbyist.
Pellegrini characterized the measure as a way for Republican lawmakers to introduce state school tuition vouchers, an idea long popular on the right side of the aisle, he said. Gay men and lesbians who turn to state-funded social service programs are also at risk of facing discrimination from anti-gay religious groups who win state contracts, Pellegrini said.
The governor’s office defended the idea, which awaits introduction in the 2007 legislative session, as an extension of services to citizens statewide. Currently, religious organizations can compete for state service contracts in limited capacities with prohibitions on evangelism.
“What we intend to introduce is an old idea whose time has finally come. There are these faith-based services out there that have the bandwidth to serve some of our most needy and vulnerable citizens and right now they just can’t compete for state funds because of restrictions on state funds going to faith-based organizations,” said Bert Brantley, a spokesperson for the governor.
According to Brantley, the amendment Perdue advocates would not foster an environment for anti-gay discrimination by religious organizations who win state contracts to provide aid to Georgia citizens. Brantley did not specify what protections against antigay discrimination, if any,would be included in the Perdue proposal.
“I know we’re certainly not in favor of discrimination.
I don’t know that we also want to get into the business of telling people how to serve the people they serve. It’s a discussion that’s worth having. It’s a discussion we need to talk about and make sure that all those issues are considerable as we’re going through this,” he said.
Pellegrini argued that the amendment is unnecessary, and will skew the separation between church and state.
“Groups that don’t discriminate are eligible for state funds. So it’s a false claim that they can’t. If you had a person who wanted to enter substance abuse recovery, and it was a faithbased proselytizing group, and they were the only one in the county, then you would be left out if you objected to the religious proselytizing,” he said.
The measure would have to garner a two-thirds majority vote in the state House and Senate to progress to the ballot for Georgia voters.
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