COALITION TO PROTECT

GEORGIA'S BILL OF RIGHTS

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SR 345 IS BAD FOR RELIGION,
BAD FOR THOSE IN NEED OF SOCIAL SERVICES,
AND BAD FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Coalition to Protect Georgia's Bill of Rights consists of 28 faith, education, service provider, civil rights, labor and women's organizations who have joined together in OPPOSITION to SR 345, Governor Perdue's so-called "faith and family" resolution.  The Governor asserts that he supports the resolution so that the State of Georgia can implement a faith-based plan like the one on the national level.  The Governor's resolution would essentially repeal Georgia's provision on the separation of church and state.  It would also remove the only real barrier to school vouchers.

Background:  The Georgia State Constitution includes a specific protection to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund religious worship, proselytizing or discrimination.  Commonly known as "the Blaine Amendment", this constitutional safeguard has served Georgia well for close to 150 years.  The "Faith & Family Services Bill" is an alarming proposal to amend the State's Constitution to repeal this vital protection.

Fact:  This resolution is a backdoor attempt to implement taxpayer-funded vouchers for private religious schools.  Such a system will hurt our public schools.

Fact:  Religiously affiliated organizations (e.g. Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, Jewish Family & Career Services) currently receive government funds to provide social services.  This resolution would go a lot further and allow your taxes to flow directly into churches, mosques and synagogues.  It will create unhealthy competition among various faiths for limited funds and may even diminish the quality of services for Georgians in need.

Fact:  Permitting government bureaucrats to choose which religions to fund is divisive and is just plain bad public policy.

Fact:  Governor Perdue's so-called "faith and family" resolution.  The Governor asserts that he supports the resolution so that the State of Georgia can implement a faith-based plan like the one on the national level.  The Governor's resolution would essentially repeal Georgia's provision on the separation of church and state.  It would also remove the only real barrier to school vouchers.

Background:  The Georgia State Constitution includes a specific protection to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund religious worship, proselytizing or discrimination.  Commonly known as "the Blaine Amendment", this constitutional safeguard has served Georgia well for close to 150 years. The Faith and Family Services Act" is an alarming proposal to amend the State's Constitution to repeal this vital protection.

Fact:  This resolution is a backdoor attempt to implement taxpayer-funded vouchers for private religious schools.  Such a system will hurt our public schools.

Fact:  Religiously affiliated organizations (e.g. Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, Jewish Family & Career Services) currently receive government funds to provide social services.  This bill would go a lot further and allow your taxes to flow directly into churches, mosques and synagogues.  It will create unhealthy competition among various faiths for limited funds and may even diminish the quality of services for Georgians in need.

Fact:  Permitting government bureaucrats to choose which religions to fund is divisive and is just plain bad public policy.

Fact:  The bill should not be passed unless it explicitly provides that there will be no discrimination in hiring, discrimination in service delivery or forced proselytizing of individuals who seek only help. These protections provide both important safeguard and valuable guidance to faith-based providers.

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