Is Louisiana's Attorney General Jeff Landry hateful toward the LGBT community? A community his own brother is a member of? The short answer is yes, but if you ask him, he's just doing his job.
Why Jeff Landry is in the news now is that his fight with the pendulum that is LGBT rights in Louisiana. In March we reported that Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards was canceling an anti-gay measure that was passed by the previous governor Jindal that gave businesses and state agencied the right to refuse services. Edwards went one step further and in April, he signed an Executive Order banning LGBT discrimination. Lawsuits against each "southern gentlemen" went back and forth and now the dust seems to be settling 8 months later with Jeff Landry ahead in the LGBT discrimination game, meaning we are not happy.
In his own mind, what Jeff Landry is guilty of is following the law down to its last letter. To be honest, that is the job of the attorney general, but we didn't know it also required you to not have a heart or imagination for a better world. Jeff Landry's never had the inclusionary attitude it seems for back in 2012, when running for a Congressional District seat, he caught everyone's attention for not thinking out of the box.
Landry, a freshman who’s a favorite of the Tea Party wing of the GOP, has shown a knack for grabbing national headlines, whether it’s referring to the U.S. Department of the Interior as “the Gestapo” or holding up a sign reading DRILLING = JOBS during President Barack Obama’s September 2011 address to Congress.
Landry grabbed more headlines when he asked Dr. Joseph Savoie, president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) to drop the school’s new sociology minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) studies, saying “it fails to provide an economic benefit to the participants or financial sense for the taxpayer.” (Savoie pointed out that the classes already existed before the minor was created and that adding the new minor to ULL’s 100-some other minors cost the university nothing.) – bestofneworleans.com July, 2012
What would Jeff Landry know about LGBT rights / studies? Maybe he should ask his brother, a gay man himself. Nicholas Landry took to Facebook 4 1/2 years ago to comment:
“Taking a moment from my vacation to send a message to my brother, Jeffrey M Landry/Congressman Jeff Landry: In reference to your recent quest to remove the LGBT minor from the UL curriculum, I want to state my opposition publicly. Ignorance is not education. Your constituents, heterosexual and homosexual alike, have made huge inroads in working towards equality in our community. By embracing diversity and acknowledging our differences, we gain understanding. Understanding is education."
"To my brother. I am sorry we disagree, but we still love and pray for you. – bestofneworleans.com July, 2012
Some sources are flaunting the news that Jeff has a gay brother Nick, but it has been known for some time. More news outlets are believing they can catch Jeff in a tough situation because of the newest ruling against Governor Edwards LGBT protections. In a video from WGNO.com ABC, we see the reporter bring up Nick toward the end of session and it doesn't phase Jeff Landry one bit.
Louisiana’s top lawyer, Attorney General Jeff Landry, says he’s “pleased” that a state judge has tossed out Governor Jon Bel Edwards’ executive order prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender, religion and sexuality in state jobs.
The irony is that Landry’s own brother Nicholas Landry is a gay man who potentially could face the discrimination the Governor’s order was intended to prevent. – WGNO.com
If you are a professional bump on a log checking laws for exactness and squeezing out of laws any emotion or "the right thing to do" sensibility, you're not going to bat an eye when someone thinks your inconsiderate of a family member. Jeff is truly a professional.
And what about Nicholas? His personal response was posted one month ago, at the height of the Attorney General / Governor political and legal scuffle.
Hey y'all! I made this video on October 4th, 2016 without a set cause or way to get the message out. This is UNEDITED and UNSCRIPTED. Just me speaking from my heart… following along with the notes of everything that was in my head and on my heart. Sorry it's so long… I'm not good at SHORT STORIES…
I sent to my friends who work with LGBT rights nationally I am very happy to say that there is a wonderful team of people advising me on how to best to get this message out and get my voice heard. It’s an ongoing process… Rome wasn’t built in a day… and neither will this campaign be. But we will work DAILY to be sure this message is heard, along with anyone else in Louisiana and beyond who would like to stand up for EQUALITY in all forms.
I want to be sure that everyone knows this IS NOT a personal vendetta against anyone INCLUDING MY FAMILY. IT IS A PUBLIC STANCE AGAINST ANYONE – political or otherwise who works to silence the voices of the LGBT community and block or hinder our RIGHT TO EQUAL LOVE.
I only want to stand up and have my voice heard – to use my right to freedom of speech to spread the message of LOVE and equal rights to marriage in Louisiana and beyond.
Join me. STAND UP and HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD. You can start by sharing this message.
Visit www.LandryForLouisianaEQUALITY.com for more information and to have your voice heard.xo – Nicholas Landry
We will have to keep an eye out for a new response from Nicholas.
What we will also need to watch for is a response from the governor as well as fellow Democrats in Louisiana. The main reason Governor John Bel Edwards wrote the executive order was because the legislative branch would not construct such a law. Will all of this discussion and chatter and legal activity spark law makers to do the right thing and have a heart?
h/t: WGNO.com, bestofneworleans.com
Your brother is a douchebag.
Your brother is a douchebag. There's no need to defend him.