Bobby Jindal: Obama only backed gay marriage for popularity

PinkNews logo surrounded by illustrated images including a rainbow, unicorn, PN sign and pride flag.

Adamantly anti-gay Republican Presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal has lashed out at President Obama and Hillary Clinton, saying they only backed same-sex marriage because of opinion polls.

The Louisiana Governor has in the past said his party doesnā€™t need the support of gay people, and has continually tried to force throughā€œreligious freedomā€ laws in his state which would allow anti-gay discrimination.

Governor JIndal, who has struggled with his stateā€™s $1.6 billion deficit, announced his bid to become the Republican Presidential nominee last week.Ā 

Speaking since the US Supreme Court ruled that all couples in the US have a consititonal right to marriage, Jindal said:Ā “Both the President and Hillary evolved their views because of opinion polls. They can read opinion polls just like the Supreme Court.”

Bragging about his opposition to same-sex marriage, he told NBC News: “My view of marriage is based on my Christian faith. No early court’s decision is going to change that. I think marriage is between a man and a woman.”

“I think they’re all created equal in god’s eyes. And I think we need to respect and love those we disagree with. I think we can have religious liberty without discrimination. My views on marriage aren’t evolving with the polls. I can read polls just like the President can. It’s based on my faith. I think it should remain between a man and a woman,” he continued.

Speaking of his own popularity in his home state of Louisiana, Jindal said:Ā “If I were afraid of polls, I never would have been elected in two landslide elections, winning the highest percentage in our state’s last election for governor.”

Just hours after a bill to protect ā€œreligious freedomā€ failed in Louisiana last month, Governor Bobby Jindal said he would force through a measure to protect it using an Executive Order.

Governor Bobby Jindal attempted to push ahead with a bill specifying discrimination for same-sex marriage.

Governor Jindal has previouslyĀ defended anti-gay Duck DynastyĀ star Phil Robertson, who hasĀ equated homosexuality with bestialityĀ and claimed that AIDS is ā€œGodā€™s punishmentā€ for homosexuality.

The Governor claimed the Robertsons were ā€œgreat citizensā€ of Louisiana, and went on to attack the ā€œpolitically correct crowdā€ for criticising the comments by Robertson.

The Human Rights Campaign earlier this yearĀ marked an op-ed from GovernorĀ Jindal ā€“ and he definitely didnā€™t pass with flying colours.

An attempted put-down of President Barack Obamaā€™s State of the Union address last year backfired, when Governor Jindal used the wrong ā€œyourā€ in a tweet.