Bobby Jindal: Anti-discrimination laws are a ‘Silent War on Religious Liberty’

By Scott Kaufman,

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library on Thursday night about what he called “The Silent War on Religious Liberty” being waged by the Obama administration.

“These days we think this diversity of belief is tolerated under our law and Constitution,” Jindal said. “But that’s wrong. This diversity of belief is the foundation of our law and Constitution. America does not sustain and create faith. Faith created and sustains America.”

This “Silent War,” Jindal contended, “threatens the fabric of our communities, the health of our public square, and the endurance of our constitutional governance. It is a war against the propositions in the Declaration of Independence. It is a war against the spirit that motivated abolitionism. It is a war against the faith that motivated the Civil Rights struggle…It is a war against America’s best self, at America’s best moments.”

The main front in this “silent war,” according to Jindal, involves “the freedom to exercise your religion in the way you run your business, large or small.” He cites the case of Hobby Lobby, which is “exercis[ing]” its religious freedom by refusing its employees health care and not stocking Hanukkah-related merchandise.

According to Jindal, “Hobby Lobby is nothing less than an all-American success story. The family owned company was launched in Oklahoma in 1970 with nothing more than a $600 loan and a workshop in a garage. Today they have 588 stores in 47 states. They have more than 13,000 full-time employees.”

Jindal’s “all-American success story,” which “retain[s] the guiding principles of their devout founders”, purchases its products from China, where forced abortions are still common. Still, Jindal claims that Hobby Lobby’s profession of religiosity doesn’t matter the Obama administration.

Jindal believes that the Constitution’s free exercise of religion clause gives people the right to discriminate against people whose lifestyles offend their religious sensibilities. “Consider the many cases against bakers, photographers, caterers and other wedding consultants who have religious beliefs, which prevent them from taking part in a same-sex ceremony,” he said. “The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in August that one small business, Elane Photography, had violated the state’s Human Rights Act by declining to photograph a same sex commitment ceremony.”

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