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During last year’s General Assembly session, lawmakers almost passed a religious freedom bill even after protests and boycotts in other states that passed similar bills.

State business leaders and some Republicans fought the bill, saying it was bad for Georgia.

Well, when the General Assembly session starts Monday, the bill will be back. And Americus Senator Greg Kirk plans to introduce a bill critics say will cause even more controversy, the First Amendment Defense Act.

State lawmakers need to understand the U-S Constitution already guarantees we have freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

Georgia doesn’t need divisive debates that will not improve our state or our daily lives.

Lawmakers need to use their time and energy on the difficult task of coming up with a smart and fair way to overhaul the way schools are funded.

They need to find a way help under-performing schools, create more jobs, and improve rural healthcare.

Those are important issues that affect us all, and those are the kind of issues lawmakers should focus on.