Gay-Marriage Opponents Get Legal Protection From Louisiana Governor

[cali]

— Hours after a committee in the Louisiana Legislature effectively voted down a bill that would explicitly protect people and businesses that do not want to participate in same-sex marriage, Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order on Tuesday to accomplish much of what the bill had set out to do.

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Critics, including liberals and even some conservatives, as well influential business leaders, were sharply critical of the governor’s position, dismissing it as an attempt to court conservatives nationally in advance of his likely presidential run.

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The Legislature’s bill, the Marriage and Conscience Protection Act, would prevent the state “from taking any adverse action against a person on the basis that such person acted in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction about marriage.” It was sponsored by Mike Johnson, a freshman representative.

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After discussing the bill and hearing from supporters and opponents earlier on Tuesday, the House Civil Law and Procedure committee voted 10 to 2 across party lines to return it to the calendar, more or less killing it for the current session. Legislators in Texas failed to act on a similar bill last week, reflecting the degree to which business interests have come to see the bills as projecting an image of intolerance that is bad for a state’s business climate. That is a particular issue with the tourism industry in Louisiana.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/us/bobby-jindal-louisiana-governor-issues-executive-order-on-same-sex-marriage.html

[uppityperson]

1. kick for the asses doing nasty crap