On its surface, Senate Bill 129 — a bill under consideration in the Georgia Legislature known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act— claims to protect religious freedom and encourage tolerance. In reality, it encourages the same discrimination that’s haunted the South for too long.
When I moved to Atlanta in 1990, the nation was in the midst an HIV/AIDS crisis fueled by stigma and discrimination. I founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation here in Atlanta to fight the misunderstanding and prejudice at the heart of the epidemic, and to provide support and dignity to those battling the disease.
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