Perhaps in light of his own actions, Governor Bobby Jindal should have said,
“I am lecturing you and not listening to you. I’m bypassing the state legislature, and ignoring the people. If I wanted to make the case that the law should be passed, I should have effectively made the case to the legislature and the people. This is an arrogant, cynical political move by me, and it’s why so many in this state no longer trust me to solve the problems we face.”
Governor Jindal really wanted Louisiana’s “Marriage and Conscience Act” (HB 707) to become law. He said so in his State of the State address back in April,
“I absolutely intend to fight for the passage of this legislation,” he had said, “I think we can all agree that the government should never force someone to participate in a marriage ceremony against their will.”
When Republican State Representative Mike Johnson introduced this bill, in spite of claiming it does not promote discrimination against same-sex couples, he justified it by referring to cases like the bakery that refused to make a cake for a Gay couple’s wedding and the event venue that cancelled the contract it had signed with another same sex couple just a few days before the two were to get married there.
“It’s stories like these that have compelled us to introduce the Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act. This new law, if enacted, would protect a Louisiana citizen or business from being punished by the state simply for abiding by their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage.”
But when it failed to get out of committee, Jindal decided he would have it anyway by declaring an executive order.
“We will be issuing an Executive Order shortly that will accomplish the intent of HB 707 to prevent the state from discriminating against persons or entities with deeply held religious beliefs that marriage is between one man and one woman. This Executive Order will prohibit the state from denying or revoking a tax exemption, tax deduction, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, professional license, certification, accreditation, or employment on the basis the person acts in accordance with a religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.”
He issued that order on Tuesday.
This state endorsement of discrimination against GLBT people goes beyond just wedding cakes, or even just weddings themselves, according to Stephen Sabludowsky of Bayou Buzz, “A doctor working at a state institution could not be fired by the state if the doctor refused to treat a same-sex couple.” If a teacher refused to deal with the same-sex parents of a student, the state could not take action against the teacher.
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Back in 2008, when he first took office as governor, Jindal refused to renew an executive order that protected Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual employees of state agencies and contractors from discrimination because he did not want to “create additional special categories or special rights”. But the only action he took, rather than create additional categories, was to actually allow existing protections to disappear.
So, either to pander to a particular religious bias, or to use his office to promote his own personal beliefs while turning his back on citizens of the state he governs, he will be creating special rights for religion while violating his own principles regarding executive orders.
When Congress did not act on immigration reform, President Obama issue an executive order which prompted Jindal to declare,
“The President is lecturing us and not listening to us. He’s bypassing Congress, and ignoring the American people. If the President wants to make the case that the law should be changed, he should go make the case to Congress and our people, This is an arrogant, cynical political move by the president, and it’s why so many Americans no longer trust this president to solve the problems we face”.
Certainly the difference is obvious.
In the case of the President, he took an action as a result of Congress’s inaction, while Jindal took an action because he did not like the action that the elected representatives of the people of his state took.
In response, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu signed an executive order “affirming discrimination will not be tolerated in” New Orleans”.
“With this executive order, I am issuing a clarifying call to the nation that New Orleans is an accepting, inviting city that thrives on its diversity and welcomes people from all walks of life with open arms. In New Orleans, we believe religious liberty and freedoms should be protected and discrimination prohibited, and we have passed our own laws to reflect that principle.
“This executive order is an important, symbolic affirmation that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated in New Orleans – and it should not be tolerated anywhere in Louisiana.”
The ball is now in Jindal’s court.