Jeb Bush makes no sense when asked about ‘religious freedom’ laws
Rumoured Presidential candidate Jeb Bush has given a confused answer when asked about legislation that would give religious people a “license to discriminate” against gays.
Mr Bush, who is a former Governor of Florida and the brother of former President George W Bush, was asked about the legislation while visiting Georgia.
Republicans in the Georgia Senate recently voted in favour of Senate Bill 129 – which exempts people from anti-discrimination laws on the grounds of “religious freedom”.
When asked about the issue, Mr Bush gave a confusing, garbled answer worthy of his brother – but appeared to back the legislation.
Jeb Bush makes his case to Georgia lawmakers – and wades into a thorny debate. https://t.co/vrcs7ItA8m #gapol pic.twitter.com/9BavGHXKOi
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 19, 2015
He said: “I don’t know about the law, but religious freedom is a serious issue, and it’s increasingly so, and I think people that act on their conscience shouldn’t be discriminated against, for sure, and there should be protections, and so, as it relates to marriage equality… and that may change, the Supreme Court may change that.
“That automatically then shifts the focus to people of conscience, and, I don’t know, have their faith make… they want to act on their faith, and may not be able to be employed for example.”
He continued: “People have a right to do that, just as we need to be respectful for people who are in long-term committed relationships. Sorting that out is important.”
Mr Bush was once seen as more moderate voice on LGBT rights compared to most of the potential 2016 Republican candidates.
However, while working to shore up support in recent months he has affirmed his opposition to same-sex marriage – and hired anti-gay activist Jordan Sekulow, who lobbied African countries into maintaining homophobic laws.
