Gov. Bobby Jindal’s executive order that aims to give special protections to people who oppose same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and should be thrown out, gay rights advocates argue in a lawsuit filed today.
The Associated Press reports that the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana, the Forum for Equality Foundation and six New Orleans residents lodged their challenge of the governor’s May 19 order in state court in Baton Rouge.
“Gov. Jindal has violated the Louisiana Constitution by setting up special protections for those who share his belief system. In our country no one is above the law, including the governor,” Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, says in a written statement.
The lawsuit comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively struck down bans on same-sex marriage in Louisiana and several other states. Louisiana parish clerks of court began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday.
Jindal, who is courting evangelical voters in his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, framed the executive order as a protection of “religious liberty” for Christians who oppose same-sex marriage and called the lawsuit an “attack” on civil liberties.
The “Marriage and Conscience” order prohibits state agencies under Jindal’s control from denying licenses, benefits, contracts or tax deductions in response to actions taken because of someone’s “religious belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.”
The Republican governor issued the order after lawmakers refused to write similar provisions into Louisiana law.
The lawsuit claims Jindal tried to bypass the Legislature and make new law on his own, exceeding his constitutional authority and violating the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
Jindal describes the legal challenge as a “left wing lawsuit.”
“Religious liberty is fundamental to our freedom as Americans, and I will not back down from defending it,” he says in a statement to the AP.
