Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, seeking to distinguish himself from what seems to be a crowded Republican presidential field, will tell the National Rifle Association gathered in Nashville on Friday that religious freedom fights are linked to those attempting to restrict gun ownership,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
"If these large forces can conspire to crush the First Amendment, it won’t be long before they come after the Second Amendment," Jindal, who has not announced a presidential bid, will warn firearms enthusiasts in prepared remarks delivered later Friday at the NRA's annual meeting, the Journal noted.
Jindal of late has focused his speaking messages on social issues, seen by some as a divisive play for Republicans looking to broaden their tent. But thus far Jindal has been resolute as he wades back into the culture wars of decades past. He appears to be charting a campaign that pits middle-class Americans and their values against corporations and the interests of the federal government, the Journal noted.
"We saw Hollywood liberals and editorial columnists form a new alliance with some of the biggest corporations in our country," Mr. Jindal will say in his speech, which outlines recent religious freedom debates ignited in Indiana and Arkansas. "They came together to bully the elected representatives of the people."
Jindal will add, regarding the outrage from many on the left: "This was an attack on our Constitution. It was an attack on the fundamental right to speech and association and the free exercise of religion. It was large corporations and Hollywood saying we don’t care about the First Amendment."
Some in his home state are wondering whether Jindal's own wade into the religious liberty debate will mark a "reckless finale" to his governorship, the Times-Picayune of New Orleans noted.
"While the governors of Indiana and Arkansas thought better of annihilating their states' business climates, Jindal sees a similar Louisiana bill as an opportunity. Not an opportunity for enhancing 'religious freedoms,' but rather to distinguish himself as the most outlandish extremist in the GOP presidential field,"
writes Robert Mann, a former Senate staffer and professor at Louisiana State University, of Jindal's likely support of new state legislation that is somewhat similar to that pushed in Indiana and Arkansas.
"Some call the legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, a 'religious freedom' bill. Let's be honest. It's the 'Cloak My Bigotry in Religion Act,'" Mann wrote in the Times-Picayune.
Jindal's spokeswoman said he would support the Louisiana legislation.
"This is a common-sense bill that provides necessary protections for individuals to prevent adverse treatment from the state based on religious beliefs regarding marriage," said his spokeswoman Shannon Bates Dirmann,
NOLA.com reported.