The archconservative governor and GOP presidential candidate is doing all he can to stop same-sex weddings in his state.
June 26 2015 5:48 PM EST
February 04 2016 9:49 PM EST
Nbroverman
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The archconservative governor and GOP presidential candidate is doing all he can to stop same-sex weddings in his state.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and his attorney general, Buddy Caldwell, are refusing to allow same-sex couples to wed in the Pelican State.
"Current state law is still in effect until the courts order us otherwise," a Jindal spokesman told the The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Caldwell followed that up with a statement that claimed, "There is not yet a legal requirement for officials to issue marriage licenses or perform marriages for same-sex couples in Louisiana."
State officials say they're waiting to green-light weddings until a decision is rendered by a lower court in a different marriage case. The officials' justification is specious since a ruling in that lower court case -- argued in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals -- was being held until the Supreme Court decided on national marriage equality.
Seven same-sex couples in Louisiana already filed a motion seeking to force state officials to enforce the Supreme Court's decision. Meanwhile, Jindal slammed the high court's ruling and said it should be abolished.
"Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that," Jindal said in a written statement while campaigning in Iowa, "If we want to save some money lets just get rid of the court."
Even with marriage, Louisiana's same-sex couples are still barred from adopting children and Jindal recently signed an executive order allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBT people.