The Gay Thing: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Issues Anti-Gay Executive Order

Wow. Just wow. Not only is Gov. "Bobby" Jindal willing to publicly mix his religion with his politics, willing to go to the mat for this "sincerely held religious belief" bullshit about marriage and wedding vendors in the face of intense bipartisan backlash. . .he's willing to do it unilaterally, and by actually pointing out that this is about The Gays. Usually, they don't do that.

Okay, so I've said it a lot, but I'm saying it again: this issue is bogus, from top to bottom. There is no doctrine that forbids Christian businesspeople from selling their wares to gay people. Or for weddings that their own church doesn't recognize. This was never an issue for any of the countless heterosexual "courthouse weddings," never an issue before gays got legal recognition. Moreover, the public sale of common goods or services is not taking place under the guise of religion, or in a religious context. Religion does not enter into the business transaction. It didn't work as an argument during the 60s civil rights era, and it shouldn't work now.

Image from source, Joe.My.God.

There are other issues with their line of argument, namely that though these things are dreamed up by Christians from a Christian perspective about their mysterious fixation on a "sin" that is scarcely mentioned in the Bible, Christianity is not the only religion. Also, weddings aren't the only events a religious person could have religious beliefs toward. Nor are civil marriages even necessarily religious in nature n the first place. Annnnnd, of course, a person's religious rights apply to themselves, not their customers, not their employees. You--as a business owner, proprietor, cashier, whatever--don't get to shun me because my religious beliefs down align with yours! It's absurd!

But back to Bobby. His state legislature nixed this kind of nonsense, amazingly enough. So, he's doing an end-run, and issuing an executive order. Specifically addressing marriage. It's got to be unconstitutional, and it's certainly mean-spirited. It's also tremendously out of step with the times. And it sets up a whole host of problems that Bobby likely gave almost no thought to, including but not limited to demands from Christians for exemptions to other laws, whether anti-gay, or anti-someone else; demands from other existing religions for exemptions to other laws, and. . .just wait for it. . .demands from possibly newly born religions for exemptions based upon "sincerely held beliefs" about. . .well, whatever they can dream up.

Because the nifty (and bizarre) thing about "sincerely held belief" is that it need not be backed up with doctrine, or commandments, or anything more than what's inside your noggin. These beliefs can even be contradicted by empirical fact (as in Hobby Lobby, which was actually cited in the order), and still be sincerely held.

[Excerpt]

LOUISIANA: Bobby Jindal Issues Executive Order Legalizing Anti-Gay Discrimination
 
Earlier today a Louisiana House committee rejected the bill that would have legalized anti-gay discrimination. That rejection came after big business, including IBM, denounced the bill. Unswayed, Gov. Bobby Jindal has already followed through on his vow to issue an executive order that bypasses the state legislature. . .

Read more at: Joe.My.God.