Jindal: Prepare for ‘all-out assault’ on religious liberty

URBANDALE - Bobby Jindal said that with same-sex marriage now the law of the land, conservatives' attention should turn to ensuring business owners are not forced to provide services in a manner they believe conflicts with their religious beliefs.

The Louisiana governor spoke about the momentous U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling, which was handed down mere hours earlier, during a campaign visit to Iowa on Friday.

Jindal's swing to the first-in-the-nation state came just days after he officially declared his candidacy for president.

'The next step on this is the left and (Democratic front-runner) Hillary Clinton are going to be waging an all-out assault on our religious liberty rights,” Jindal said Friday morning when talking to reporters outside a Machine Shed restaurant. 'These rights are protected by the First Amendment. It is important that Americans come together to defend our constitutional freedoms, especially our religious liberty rights.”

Jindal said that as president he would approve legislation that would say the government cannot punish a business for refusing to offer services for same-sex wedding ceremonies. Jindal said he signed similar legislation in Louisiana in 2010.

'We see all the time in states across this country where business owners - caterers, florists, musicians - are facing discrimination simply because they want to follow their conscience,” Jindal said. 'To stay in business, they either have to pay thousands of dollars in fines or they'd have to violate their conscience, and that's simply wrong. It is wrong in America that we don't allow people to follow their First Amendment rights, their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Jindal, like many Republicans, took issue with the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings this week on same-sex marriage and the federal health care law.

Asked what he would look for as a president charged with nominating a Supreme Court justice, Jindal said he would pursue a jurist who does not seek the bench to make laws, which he accused the current court of doing.

'At the very least, I'd like to have a Supreme Court justice that can read a dictionary and read the Constitution,” Jindal said. 'That would be an improvement over what we've got today.

'It would be nice if we actually had some Supreme Court justices that actually read and understood their job, read the Constitution and understood their job was to actually apply the Constitution. My hat's off to Chief Justice (John) Roberts. He's a great politician. If we have justices that want to be politicians, that want to create laws, they should run for Congress, run for the legislature. That's not the job of the Supreme Court.

'As president, I would be looking for justices that actually read the Constitution and do the job they were appointed to do. If they want to make laws, there are other jobs for them. They are not there to make laws. They're not there to be looking at public opinion polls.”

After speaking with reporters, Jindal walked through the restaurant and visited with patrons. Among them was Gloria Mazza, executive director of the Polk County Republicans.

'I'm excited he's in,” Mazza said. 'I think he's a great candidate. I think he has great messages and can turn the country around, and that's what we need.”

An aide said Jindal had multiple media interviews set up while in the Des Moines area and a private meeting with business leaders. He also was scheduled to speak at an event Friday evening at a restaurant in nearby Newton.