- The Washington Times - Sunday, January 25, 2015

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Republican leader of one of 14 states that do not perform same-sex marriage, said Sunday he’ll defend the right of states to define marriage as they see fit.

The Supreme Court is set to decide the gay-marriage question this term, but Mr. Jindal said his Christian views will not sway according to the polls.

“I think it should be between and man and woman,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”

If the justices make gay marriage a national right, Mr. Jindal said he’ll support congressional Republicans pushing for a constitutional amendment that leaves the question up to the states.

Mr. Jindal, a potential GOP candidate for president in 2016, didn’t join Republicans Saturday at the Iowa Freedom Summit, where the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie touted their conservative bona fides ahead of the state’s first-in-nation caucuses next year.

Instead, he spoke to evangelicals at a rally hosted by the American Family Association at Louisiana State University.

Outside the event, protesters condemned the group’s stance against gay marriage.

Mr. Jindal in recent days has courted controversy by claiming Europe has “no go zones,” or areas or regions where local officials have de facto ceded authority to Muslim immigrants who then enforce some form of Islamic shariah as “law.”

“On the last page, our God wins,” the governor said at the evangelical rally.

“This Week” host George Stephanopoulos singled out the comments as potentially polarizing in a diverse nation of 320 million.

“We don’t discriminate against anybody,” Mr. Jindal retorted. “That’s one of the great things about our country, we believe in religious liberty.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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