America
Bobby Jindal sued over order to protect same-sex marriage opponents
Washington, July 1
A gay rights advocacy group
and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana are suing
Louisiana's Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal for issuing an
executive order aimed at protecting opponents of same-sex marriage.
Jindal
signed the religious freedom executive order in May hours after the
Louisiana Legislature refused to pass a bill that would have implemented
similar protections for those opposing same-sex marriage, according to
NOLA.com.
The ACLU and other plaintiffs allege that Jindal has
overstepped his executive authority by trying to provide a right to
same-sex marriage opponents that only the Legislature can give.
"The
governor's job isn't to create law," Sean Sullivan, with Forum for
Equality Foundation, the LGBT rights organization involved with the
lawsuit, was quoted as saying. "There is a big separation of powers
issue here."
"The ACLU used to defend civil liberties, now it
appears they attack them," said Jindal in a written statement suggesting
the lawsuit is politically motivated.
"The Left likes to pick
and choose which liberties they support at any given time, and it seems
to me that religious liberty has fallen out of favour with them,"
The plaintiffs are accusing Jindal of permitting discrimination through the executive order.
The
order is meant to protect people, businesses and nonprofits from losing
access to professional licensing, tax benefits and other government
services if they refuse to support same-sex marriage.
The ACLU
and plaintiffs in the suit say this means individuals and companies
would be able discriminate against same-sex couples, without facing
repercussions.