Jindal: Be Careful About Creating ‘Special Rights’ for Gays and Lesbians

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) told Meet the Press Sunday morning that it was possible to pass laws that both protect religious liberty and refrain from licensing discrimination against gays and lesbians, though he cautioned against making gays a protected class, as they are in New Orleans.

“The good news is our society is moving in a direction of more tolerance,” Jindal said. “My concern about creating special legal protections is historically in our country, we have only done that in extraordinary circumstances. It doesn’t appear to me we’re in one of those moments today.”

Louisiana is considering a so-called “religious freedom” act similar to Indiana’s. Critics allege the bills are Trojan Horses that allow for discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Jindal would not comment on his state’s legislation specifically, but said that people too easily defaulted to government, especially in the case of protected statuses against discrimination.

“I have faith and confidence in the people in America and the people of New Orleans and the people of Louisiana to not tolerate discrimination, to not support businesses that want to support discrimination,” he continued. “So absolutely we need to have a society where we’re not discriminating against people. I do think we need to be very careful about creating special rights.”

Watch the clip below, via NBC News:

[Image via screengrab]

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