Unreasonable

Bobby Jindal

Open | 02 Jul, 2015

It was a decision that was hailed as a ‘victory of love’. On 26 June, the US Supreme Court gave its legal imprimatur to the marital union of same-sex couples across all 50 states in the country. The US isn’t the first country to do so, but the ruling was nevertheless historic. As the LGBTQI community and its supporters celebrated across the world, US President Barack Obama called it a step to make “our union a little more perfect”.

It seems that Obama’s sentiments weren’t shared by all of his would-be successors. Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal, who runs the state of Louisiana, went on record to say that he wanted to get rid of the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court is out of control, making laws on their own, and has become a public opinion poll instead of a judicial body,” said Jindal, the first ever person of Indian descent to pitch himself for the White House, “Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God.”

Considering the significant voter base among religious conservatives in the US, such statements are perhaps expected of Republicans. However, it might just serve Jindal well to remember what the Pope himself had said earlier this year about homosexuality: “Who am I to judge?”