The Louisiana ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), along with the American Equality Foundation and six New Orleans residents are suing GOP Governor Piyush “Bobby” Jindal over the religious freedom executive order he released in May that is aimed at protecting “Christians” who oppose same-sex marriage.

“[The lawsuit] is over the fact that the governor didn’t have the authority to do this in the first place,” said Marjorie Esman, head of the ACLU of Louisiana, in an interview and contends that Jindal exceeded his executive authority in issuing the order, claiming that only the Louisiana Legislature has the power to create a “substantive right” as the Jindal executive order claims it does.

“Gov. Jindal has violated the Louisiana Constitution by setting up special protections for those who share his belief system. In our country no one is above the law, including the Governor,”

In a statement following notice of the lawsuit Jindal wrote:

“This Executive Order protects religious liberty.  The ACLU used to defend civil liberties, now it appears they attack them.  The Left likes to pick and choose which liberties they support at any given time, and it seems to me that religious liberty has fallen out of favor with them. Religious liberty is fundamental to our freedom as Americans, and I will not back down from defending it.”

You can read the ALCU’s  legal challenge here