BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards says his LGBT-rights protection order is a statement that Louisiana doesn't discriminate. Attorney General Jeff Landry calls it executive overreach.
A Baton Rouge judge hears the arguments Tuesday as he decides whether to block the Democratic governor from enforcing the anti-discrimination order.
Edwards issued the order in April prohibiting discrimination in government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity, with an exception for contractors that are religious organizations.
Landry says the order is unconstitutional because it seeks to establish a new protected class of people that doesn't exist in law and that lawmakers refused to add. The Republican attorney general wants an injunction against the order, and he's stalled legal contracts that contain the anti-discrimination language.
Edwards says Landry is exceeding his authority.
