This is just sick. Republican wunderkind Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana who John McCain allegedly is considering for his running mate, has decided to let an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in state employment issued by former Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco expire today. What's worse is that as he does so, he is intentionally lying about the legal implications of his actions:The order - enacted by Blanco on Dec. 6, 2004 - bars state agencies and contractors from various sorts of harassment and discrimination by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or disabilities.
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“The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights,” Jindal said. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.“We are firmly and strongly committed to fair treatment of all of our people and certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form,” Jindal said in an interview Wednesday.
Jindal is Louisiana's first non-white Governor and the nation's youngest. If sexual orientation discrimination was illegal in Louisiana then why has that state's legislature refused to enact legislation to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination? Why do you think the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act is even necessary?
I think it's significant that Jindal is using the language of "special categories or special rights" which is heterosexual supremacists code language for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.
Of course he doesn't "condone discrimination" but he hasn't done anything (which is within his power) to prevent it from occurring. Even The Current Occupant has continued Bill Clinton's Executive Order which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in federal employment. Jindal is simply being intellectually dishonest, and he knows it.
Starting tomorrow, if you work for the state in Louisiana you can be fired without any legal recourse simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And that's simply wrong.
Welcome to the south, lower case is correct. Blanco was the exception.
ReplyDeleteNow we must realize that we really have few allies in that part of the country and must win the election without it.
Not shocked one bit, these Republicans of "color" always seem to have to prove they can be even meaner and hateful than the good old boys who despise them, but, love letting them do their dirty work. Never have been impressed with this guy or his alleged achievements.
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