Bobby Jindal: Gay marriage isn't like interracial marriage because Christians aren't 'racist'

Gov. Bobby Jindal explains why same-sex marriage is not like interracial marriage

(Image credit: NBC News)

published 29 June 2015

Louisiana is the only state that hasn't issued any licenses for same-sex marriages since the Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay people have the constitutional right to civil marriage. On Sunday's Meet the Press, Chuck Todd asked Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.), a declared 2016 presidential candidate, why his state "hasn't implemented the law yet." Jindal said it will, as soon as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals orders it to, probably in days, but that he strongly disagrees with the Supreme Court's ruling, because of his Christian faith.

Todd noted that people — including President Harry Truman — used the Bible as the rationale for their opposition to interracial marriage in the 1950s and '60s, and asked if he was comfortable making a similar argument in regards to same-sex marriage. "I think it's offensive to try and equate the two," Jindal replied, noting that race relations are better in America and "I've said we've got to stop viewing ourselves as hyphenated Americans." He added:

I think viewing people by the color of their skin is one of the dumbest ways to view people — I've written that, I've said that — so I think it's offensive to equate evangelical Christians, Catholics, others that view marriage as between a man and a woman as being racist. We're not being racist; we love our fellow man, we think we're all equal under God's eyes, we simply believe that marriage — we don't believe we should change the definition of marriage simply because of opinion polls, or because of a court that, quite simply, isn't looking at the Constitution. [Jindal]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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