Weighing in on the religious rights vs. gay rights debate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Sunday said the focus should be on winning the hearts and minds of people rather than heavy handed government restrictions on freedom.
Louisiana state Rep. Mike Johnson has filed a bill that would allow businesses to refuse marriage benefits to same-sex couples if the Supreme Court rules this summer that gay marriage is legal in all 50 states.
Jindal, appearing Sunday on "Meet the Press," said he opposes discrimination against anyone in housing an employment.
"That's not what my faith teaches me. I don't think that's appropriate," he said. "I think the good news is our society is moving in a direction of more tolerance."
But he added he is concerned about creating "special legal protections" for same-sex couples since such protections have been done in the past only in "extraordinary circumstances."
It does not appear that same-sex marriage is one of those circumstances, he said. Indiana and Arkansas currently are embroiled in the debate of whether business owners with religious convictions against same-sex marriage should be required by law to be involved in gay wedding ceremonies.
"I think that there are many that turn to the heavy hand of government to solve society's problems too easily," he said. "I think that instead we need to be working with people in their hearts and minds… We need to have a society where we're not discriminating against people. I do think we need to be very careful about creating special rights."
The debate is not new, Jindal said.
"The Founding Fathers recognized the importance of religious liberty, put it in the First Amendment of the Constitution. They anticipated some of these conflicts," he said. "They came down on the side of religious liberty… We as a country didn't create religious liberty. Religious liberty created our country."
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