Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards today lost the latest legal battle over his executive order aimed at protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in state government.
A three-judge panel of Louisiana’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s December decision that the Democratic governor’s executive order was an unconstitutional attempt to expand state law. The unanimous appellate ruling was a victory for the Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, who had issued an opinion saying the order violated the state constitution.
Landry had refused to approve various state agency contracts for appointment of legal counsel if the contracts contained the gender identity protection.
“The governor’s executive order in this case goes beyond a mere policy statement or a directive to fulfill law, because there is no current state or federal law specifically outlining anti-discrimination laws concerning and-or defining sexual orientation or gender identity,” Judge Toni Higginbotham wrote on behalf of the unanimous panel, which also included 1st Circuit judges Allison Penzato and Guy Holdridge.
“This ruling affirms a notion of basic civics that the Legislature makes the law, not the governor,” Landry says in a written statement.
Edwards’ office says it is reviewing the ruling to determine its next steps.
“Discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this decision does not change my conviction that hiring decisions in state government should be based on merit alone,” Edwards says in a statement.
