QUEER QUOTE: IBM Send Gov. Jindal Letter Opposing Louisiana Proposed RFRA Law

IBM has long been one of the LGBT-friendliest companies to work for, and they are putting their money where their mouth is by sending a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal and the top officials in the legislature opposing Louisiana's plan to enact an even more discriminatory RFRA then the anti-LGBT legislation Indiana and Arkansas had attempted to enact earlier this year.

Louisiana's bill is called the "Marriage and Conscience Act" and what IBM has to say about it is today's Queer Quote:

April 15, 2015 
The Honorable Bobby Jindal Governor, State of Louisiana PO Box 94004 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9004  

Dear Governor Jindal, 
I am writing to express IBM's strong opposition to H.B. 707, the Marriage and Conscience Act.  We are deeply concerned by reports that you intend to support this legislation.  

IBM has made significant investments in Louisiana including most recently a technology services delivery center in Baton Rouge, creating new jobs for Louisiana workers.  We located the center in Baton Rouge because we believe Louisiana has great talent and would continue to be a rich source of such talent.  However a bill that legally protects discrimination based on same-sex marriage status will create a hostile environment for our current and prospective employees, and is antithetical to our company’s values.  IBM will find it much harder to attract talent to Louisiana if this bill is passed and enacted into law.  

Our perspective is grounded in IBM's 104-year history and our deep legacy of diversity and inclusion - a legacy to which we remain strongly committed today.  IBM is opposed to discrimination against anyone on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected categories.    

We urge you to work with the Legislature to ensure this legislation is not discriminatory. 

Thank you for considering our views.  

Sincerely,  

James M. Driesse Senior State Executive  

CC: The Hon. John A. Alario, Jr President, Louisiana State Senate State Capitol Building PO Box 94183 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804 
The Hon. Charles E. Checkley Speaker, Louisiana House of Representatives State Capitol Building PO Box 94062 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

Godless Wednesday: Jindal's Voucher Program Struck Down

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has been a strong supporter of school voucher programs and pushed through a plan in his state which allowed public money in the form of vouchers to go to private schools with explicitly religious curricula.

Last week a judge ruled that Louisiana's voucher program was unconstitutional:

Judge Tim Kelley sided with argu­ments presented by teacher unions and school boards seeking to shut down the voucher program and oth­er changes that would funnel more money away from traditional public schools. The governor, who made the voucher program and other educa­tional changes a sig­nature of his early second term, said the state will appeal the decision.

The ruling was basically only based on the funding mechanism, not on the questions of whether funneling public money to promote a specific religious education agenda is illegal or not.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Republican Louisiana Governor Allows Sexual Orientation Discrimination

This is just sick. Republican wunderkind Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana who John McCain allegedly is considering for his running mate, has decided to let an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in state employment issued by former Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco expire today. What's worse is that as he does so, he is intentionally lying about the legal implications of his actions:

The order - enacted by Blanco on Dec. 6, 2004 - bars state agencies and contractors from various sorts of harassment and discrimination by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or disabilities.

[...]

“The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights,” Jindal said. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.

“We are firmly and strongly committed to fair treatment of all of our people and certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form,” Jindal said in an interview Wednesday.

Jindal is Louisiana's first non-white Governor and the nation's youngest. If sexual orientation discrimination was illegal in Louisiana then why has that state's legislature refused to enact legislation to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination? Why do you think the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act is even necessary?

I think it's significant that Jindal is using the language of "special categories or special rights" which is heterosexual supremacists code language for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Of course he doesn't "condone discrimination" but he hasn't done anything (which is within his power) to prevent it from occurring. Even The Current Occupant has continued Bill Clinton's Executive Order which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in federal employment. Jindal is simply being intellectually dishonest, and he knows it.

Starting tomorrow, if you work for the state in Louisiana you can be fired without any legal recourse simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And that's simply wrong.