Jindal: ‘Without Religious Liberty Rights, There Is No Freedom of Speech’

Governor Jindal appeared on Simon Conway’s radio show earlier today where he talked about the fight for religious liberty.

Excerpt: 

Governor Jindal: "This situation is gravely, gravely concerning. I’m proud that in Louisiana we have a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. We’re one of nineteen states other than Indiana and Arkansas--the two states in the news today that already have this law. Let’s understand the context of this. America did not create religious liberty. Religious liberty created America. 

"It is a foundational freedom and right. Without religious liberty rights, there would be no freedom of speech, freedom association. Government should never step in and tell Christians that they have to choose between making a living and their Christian values. 

"This is nothing new. It’s not a new fight. Our Founding Fathers knew firsthand about government choking religious liberty. They knew what they were doing. This is not something where we can say things have changed. This was a fundamental part of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, written specifically for instances like this.

"Let’s talk very specifically about what’s happening. The Left loves to throw out hypotheticals with a lot of misinformation in the media about alleged discrimination. I’m against discrimination, obviously, but let’s talk about what’s really happening today. Government is requiring Christians to participate in gay marriage ceremonies that often times contradict their religious beliefs. Here in America, we shouldn't force those with sincerely held religious beliefs to participate in ceremonies they don’t want to. That’s the real discrimination.

"This isn't hypothetical. This isn't made up. We’re talking about florists, we’re talking about bakers, we’re talking about photographers that have had to choose between closing their businesses, paying huge fines or violating their sincerely-held religious beliefs, and I think this is a grave, grave concern. 

"It’s ironic it’s happening during Holy Week and the days leading up to GoodFriday and Easter Sunday--at a time when we as Christians are praying and reflecting on what Christ did for us on the Cross and how he rose again three days later. 

"But make no mistake about it, there has been a lot of misinformation in the media, a lot on the Left want to hide what this is really about. This is about Christians. We shouldn't have to choose between our faith and operating our businesses."