On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit formally overturned Louisiana’s gay marriage ban, seemingly giving Jindal the go-ahead.
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He noted that both Clinton and Obama had evolved on the same-sex marriage issue – first opposing it and then supporting it.
During a tour of The Center in Council Bluffs, Jindal says his track record in Louisiana speaks for itself.
Bobby Jindal is so white, he refers to Indian food as “ethnic cuisine”. But, so far the county’s clerk Katie Lang is holding up the process.
But Jindal shifted his tone on Sunday, saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that his state will abide by the Supreme Court’s decision.
Lang initially said she would not issue the licenses because of her own religious objection. By circumventing the court’s decision, they ignore a governing truth: Upholding the law, whether written by the legislature or handed down from the courts, is not optional for a government employee. When he issued the executive order, the governor framed it as a protection for Christians who oppose same-sex marriage, in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision.
Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, writing for the three-judge panel in New Orleans, told federal district judges in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to issue final rulings by July 17 at the latest. But political figures, from presidents to governors to court clerks, are different.
Though Jindal acknowledged on NBC Sunday that “We don’t have a choice” and “Our agencies will comply with the court order”, Louisiana state agencies continued to decline to issue licenses to same-sex couples. “He’s like us, going to follow the law, but what is the law”.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”, said Minter. But we still feel better.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal responded to the Fifth Circuit opinion by stating that he wanted an order from the Louisiana federal district judge.
The Alabama Supreme Court has muddied the issue by granting time for gay marriage opponents to voice their opinion about the impacts of same-sex weddings.
“My only option would be to resign, and I could not do that in good conscience”, Thompson said.
“I’m done with all this talk about hyphenated Americans”, Jindal said.
“With this order, Governor Jindal has run out of excuses for delaying recognition of same-sex couples’ right to get married and have their marriages recognized”, said Upton, in a statement Thursday.
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Opposition withered as some counties complied with the decision, and gay marriage advocates said they would ask courts to impose penalties on the holdouts that refuse.
