Bobby Jindal Really Wants to Amend U.S. Constitution to Ban Marriage Equality

In an interview with CNN Tuesday morning, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal once again expressed his support for amending the U.S. Constitution to block marriage equality.

But Jindal's statement, which echoes comments he's made before, was muddied by contradictions. "My faith teaches me that marriage is between a man and a woman," Jindal said on CNN's New Day. "I don't believe in discrimination against anybody. I'm not for changing the definition of marriage, and that's why I hope the Supreme Court decides not to overturn what the states have decided."

Jindal also proudly declared that he would not "evolve" on the issue of marriage. If the Supreme Court upholds marriage equality, he said, "I think the remedy would be a constitutional amendment in the Congress to tell the courts you can't overturn what the states have decided."

Jindal has expressed interest for running for president in 2016, though he has not yet formally launched a campaign.

Another likely candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, has also expressed support for such a federal amendment, claiming he wants federal law to reflect "God's standards." Emails to constituents from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also widely thought to be considering a run for the White House, carry a similar message: "I have said that traditional marriage between a man and a woman should be protected in the Constitution if the courts rule that gays can marry."

Earlier this year, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced his plans to introduce a federal marriage amendment that would ban same-sex marriage nationwide, even though such an effort would likely be dead on arrival, needing approval from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and three-quarters of U.S. state legislatures. At press time, 37 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) allow same-sex couples to marry, meaning more than 70 percent of the country's populace lives in a marriage equality state.

A similar amendment was introduced about a decade ago, and support was slim then. Given the rapidly growing tide in favor of marriage equality on Capitol Hill and in more than 60 federal and state court rulings, congressional support for such an amendment would likely be almost nonexistent -- even with Republicans in control of both chambers of the body.