In his State of the State address
delivered on Monday, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal backed a
recently introduced “religious freedom” bill.
“I know there has been legislation
filed this session that aims to protect religious freedom rights in
Louisiana,” said Jindal. “Let me be crystal clear. I absolutely
intend to fight for the passage of this legislation and any other
that seeks to preserve our most fundamental freedoms.”
Jindal added that Louisianans oppose
discrimination: “We can uphold both of those values
simultaneously.”
“The truth is, this should not be a
conservative versus liberal debate. Last I checked, we were all in
favor of the Bill of Rights. And here in Louisiana, as long as I'm
your governor, we will protect religious liberty and not apologize
for it.”
House Bill 707, titled the Marriage and
Conscience Act, is being championed in the House by Rep. Mike
Johnson, a Republican. It would would prohibit the government from
taking adverse action against a person for expressing a religious
belief or moral conviction about marriage.
During an appearance last week on NBC's
Meet the Press, Jindal, a possible 2016 presidential
candidate, warned against creating “special rights” for gays when
asked whether he supports a New Orleans ordinance prohibiting LGBT
discrimination in the areas of employment and housing.
“I don't think, certainly, that there
should be discrimination against anybody in housing and employment. …
The good news is our society is moving in a direction of more
tolerance,” Jindal
answered. “My concern about creating special legal protections
is historically in our country we have only done that in
extraordinary circumstances. It doesn't appear to me we're in one of
those moments today.”