Message to Governor Bobby Jindal…HB 707 sends the wrong message

By Marjorie R. Esman
Guest Columnist

After the House Civil personal loans monroe ga Law and Procedure committee shot down HB 707, also known as the Mar­riage and Conscience Act, during the recent legislative session, Governor Piyush Jindal issued an executive order aimed at side-stepping the state legislature and the obvious will of the people as expressed by their elected representatives. In a nutshell, the executive order and the Marriage and Conscience act it was meant to replace would take away the state’s right to penalize and sanction those who oppose the rights of same-sex couples. But in principle it goes much further: the Governor has substituted best Houston 77098 cash advance his unilateral action for the action of the Legislature, which sets a dangerous precedent. What else might a governor do, by unilateral Executive Order that the Legislature would refuse to do?

In his statement, the governor’s office said the intent of the order is to prevent the state from discriminating against persons or entities with a specifically defined religious belief. But religious beliefs vary widely, and not all have been granted the special protection that Jindal has granted here. We don’t, for instance, protect those who believe that women cash advance places bakersfield ca shouldn’t work outside the home. Anyone is entitled to that belief, of course, but still would have to hire a qualified woman who seeks a job. By granting special protection to one set of beliefs, the Executive Order by implication disadvantages all others, essentially setting up the Governor’s personal beliefs as an official state belief system.

Under Louisiana law, only the Legislature can create substantive rights. There’s a good reason for that. If a Governor can simply issue an edict to undermine the actions of the Legislature, fast cash commissions members area what protection do we have from similar edicts that might protect racial profiling or other kinds of bias? How can we be a system of laws, when one person can by a stroke of his pen undermine the law-making system?

Louisiana: ‘Official Discrimination Zone’

Moreover, by signing an executive order protecting discrimination against same-sex couples, the governor effectively labeled Louisiana a state where discrimination may be tolerated and government-sanctioned. The Washing­ton Post wrote, “The governor has designated Louisiana an official ‘discrimination zone.’” We don’t need or want that reputation, nor do payday advance how does it work we want to risk the harm that can come to our state if others believe that about us. And the suggestion that this simply protects religious freedom begs the question of what religion is protected, and why all of the others don’t benefit from the same protections. HB 707 failed because the members of the committee that took it up didn’t want to subject Louisiana to the stigma that such a law would impose. Business leaders who spoke out against both the failed bill and the Executive Order have decried the top cash advance OK potential losses to our state. Mayor Landrieu issued an executive order of his own letting the world know that Jindal’s Exec­utive Order has no authority in New Orleans, which remains a city that respects and appreciates diversity and that our doors are open to all.

Louisiana should not have to suffer the reputation as a state that promotes discrimination in any form. Real religious freedom respects the rights of all people to practice their different religions without fear of government intrusion and without special protections for some. The Exec­utive Order was Governor Jin­dal’s online loans online loans way of imposing his singular religious belief on the people of Louisiana.

At the end of the day, discrimination is still discrimination, and it can’t hide behind religion or an executive order. The ACLU of Louisiana is committed to preserving the civil liberties of all Louisianans. That means, among other things, speaking out when the governor violates the will of the Legislature to impose hatred and bigotry in the name of religion. We all deserve better.

This article originally published in the June 8, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.