Bobby Jindal is on the warpath.
After brazenly criticizing the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on marriage equality – even going so far as to say the highest court should be abolished – the GOP presidential candidate kept at it on Sunday, adding that the court hasn’t read the dictionary.
“You now have a court that’s not reading the Constitution, not reading the dictionary. Why couldn’t the Court have said, we’re going to respect the decisions made by the states?” the Louisiana governor said on “Meet the Press.”
The historic ruling that ordered same-sex marriage legal across the United States came just two days after Jindal declared his candidacy for president. Upon hearing the ruling, Jindal made the audacious request for literally ridding the Supreme Court.
“If we want to save some money, let’s just get rid of the court, he said.
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Jindal has repeatedly spoken out against same-sex marriage on the grounds that it interferes with the deeply-rooted religious beliefs of Americans, and on Sunday told host Chuck Todd it’s “offensive” to equate the marriage rights of same-sex couples and interracial couples.
“I think it is wrong for the federal government to force Christian individuals, businesses, pastors, churches to participate in wedding ceremonies that violate our sincerely held religious beliefs,” he said.
Jindal is largely considered an outsider in the race for the nomination, hovering at 2% in the Fox News GOP poll.
While other candidates in the jam-packed 2016 Republican field have been vocal about their criticism of the ruling, no one has called for an outright end to the Supreme Court, which is comprised almost equally of both Democrats and Republicans.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee suggested that “five unelected lawyers” vastly overstepped their power in declaring the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in the 5-4 decision. “Judicial tyranny is when we believe that the courts have a right to bypass the process of law,” he said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday. “This case wasn’t so much about a matter of marriage equality, it was marriage redefinition,” he said. Related: Clarence Thomas’ jaw-dropping dissents Meanwhile, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz echoed similar sentiments, reaffirming his belief that Texas’ county clerks should be able to “absolutely” opt out of issuing same-sex marriage licenses for religious reasons, “without government getting in the way.” “Ours is a country that was built by men and women fleeing religious oppression,” Cruz told the Texas Tribune in an interview following the ruling. “There is this liberal intolerance and fascism that seeks to force Bible-believing Christians to violate their faith, and I think it makes no sense.” Several other Republican 2016 candidates, namely former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, have rallied against the decision – voicing their displeasure and trumpeting their stringent, faith-based beliefs that marriage equality threatens religious freedom. Many of the GOP contenders vow to challenge the Supreme Court ruling that millions of Americans are celebrating this weekend. “Marriage, the family and our children are too central to a healthy society to not fight for what is best,” Santorum said in a statement.
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