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The Democratic governor tried to protect state employees from anti-LGBT discrimination, but the attorney general and high court had other plans.
Republican Louisiana attorney general Jeff Landry and a slim majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court teamed up to kill a pro-LGBT executive order from Democratic governor John Bel Edwards (pictured).
Bel Edwards issued an executive order in 2016 that banned anti-LGBT discrimination among state employees and contractors. Homophobe Landry instantly took action, suing to stop the order. A lower court ruled for Landry, saying the governor overstepped his authority in issuing the directive. The case was appealed to the state's high court, which decided this week in a 4-3 ruling to not take the case, upholding the lower court's conclusion.
"Hopefully, this will end the Governor's waste of precious taxpayer resources in defense of his unconstitutional actions," Landry said in a written statement on Friday, as reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Bel Edwards expressed disappointment,saying in a statement, "I, for one, do not think discrimination of any kind has a place in our society, much less the workplace. Unfortunately, this puts us on the wrong side of history."
Bel Edwards and Landry have a combative relationship, with the latter resisting any efforts to make Louisiana more progressive, especially when it comes to reproductive and LGBT rights. After Bel Edwards signed the LGBT order, Landry refused to approve dozens of legal contracts because they contained verbiage banning anti-LGBT discrimination.
Some members of the high court that sided with the governor sympathized not only with LGBT state employees, but also saw the potential case as clarifying the legality of executive orders when a governor and attorney general have diametrically opposing views.
