Anti-gay governor Bobby Jindal enters 2016 presidential race
One of the most anti-gay Republican politicians, Bobby Jindal, has entered the US presidential race.
The Louisiana Governor has in the past said his party doesn’t need the support of gay people, and has continually tried to force through “religious freedom” laws in his state which would allow anti-gay discrimination.
Governor JIndal, who has struggled with his state’s $1.6 billion deficit, announced his run last night.
“There are a lot of great talkers running for president already,” he said, adding: “We’ve had enough of talkers. It is time for a doer.”
He joins 12 other Republican candidates – Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Lindsay Graham and Rick Santorum.
Most of the field are on the record opposing LGBT rights – with Carson, Cruz, Huckabee, Paul, Perry and Santorum all extreme opponents known for anti-gay comments – while nearly the entire field opposes same-sex marriage.
Just hours after a bill to protect “religious freedom” failed in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal said he would force through a measure to protect it using an Executive Order.
Governor Jindal has previously defended anti-gay Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, who has equated homosexuality with bestiality and claimed that AIDS is “God’s punishment” for homosexuality.
The Governor claimed the Robertsons were “great citizens” of Louisiana, and went on to attack the “politically correct crowd” for criticising the comments by Robertson.
The Human Rights Campaign earlier this year marked an op-ed from Governor Jindal – and he definitely didn’t pass with flying colours.
An attempted put-down of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last year backfired, when Governor Jindal used the wrong “your” in a tweet.
