Georgia State Representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine) is retracting House Bill 3 that would have potentially heavily restricted the use of traditional Muslim garb for women.

HB 3 was to be an amendment to an existing article that had previously banned men from wearing a mask, hood, or any device which conceals the identity of the wearer. This article, known as Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, was originally created to ban the Ku Klux Klan.

“A person is guilty of a misdemeanor when he or she wears a mask…or device by which any portion of the face is so hidden…to conceal the identity of the wearer and is upon…public property or upon the private property of another without the written permission of the owner…to do so. For purposes of this subsection, the phrase ‘upon any public way or property’ includes but is not limited to operating a motor vehicle upon any public street, road, or highway:” read the HB 3 amendment.

While Spencer had insisted that HB 3 was aimed at public safety since “People wearing head pieces while driving is a distraction and should be prohibited,” the Georgia Council of American Islamic Relations felt HB 3’s wording left too much space for discrimination.

Spencer pre-filed HB 3 this past Nov. 16 and said that “Muslim women should have to show their faces when trying to obtain a driver’s license.” make sure you check out the typical weather conditions in Roswell.

Yet Edward Ahmed Mitchell of the Georgia CAIR said to FOX 5 Atlanta that “You go to get a driver’s license; you already have to show your face. Muslim women already do that no problem. That makes the law unnecessary and it’s also unnecessary for the law to go further and require you to show your face when you are in public minding your own business. It’s completely unnecessary. It’s blatantly targeting a religious minority.”

Spencer released a statement early Nov. 17 stating “After further consideration, I have decided to not pursue HB 3 in the upcoming 2017 legislative session due to the visceral reaction it has created.”