Bobby Jindal’s former media director brands him ‘anti-gay’ and ‘destructive’
Republican Presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal has been attacked by his former head of news media.
The Governor of Louisiana 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.
However, in a column for the New Orleans Advocate, Jindal’s former news media director Taylor Huckaby lashed out at him.
Mr Huckaby, who is gay, wrote: “During my years in the Jindal machine, I became entrenched in the culture that gave birth to what we see today: fire-and-brimstone Jindal, chomping at the bit to stand in the church house door and refuse Americans their individual right to marry the one they love.
He continues: “I regret nothing more than my complicity in the state’s relentless attacks against my fellow LGBTQ citizens.
“Being anti-gay was (and is) a system requirement for working in Louisiana conservative politics, and it bred a powerful self-hatred.”
Savaging his former employer, he writes: “Jindal’s signature strategy of rallying bigotry diminishes in power with each passing moment.
“Whatever procedural or bureaucratic chicanery he attempts in order to block our freedom to marry will be fruitless, petty and ultimately unsuccessful.
“This Independence Day marks the final Fourth of July Louisiana will observe under Jindal’s dishonest, destructive administration — and also the first Fourth of July that queer Americans may marry whomever they choose.
“For many, that’s something worth celebrating — and as Jindal fades into irrelevance, my deepest hope is that Louisiana elects new leaders who govern differently, leaders who prize fairness, charity, dignity, prudence and kindness above all.”
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.
