IBM, Sparring With Antigay Jindal, Cancels Louisiana Event

IBM will not be hosting a ribbon-cutting for their new Baton Rouge office, thanks to the governor's discriminatory executive order.

When an Indiana-like "religious freedom" bill was being debated in the Louisiana legislature, IBM sent a strongly-worded letter to governor Bobby Jindal urging him to veto such legislation. Jindal, a Republican who's expected to announce his run for the presidency this week, did the opposite; when the legislation died, the governor signed an executive order that effectively allowed businesses to turn away those who conflict with their religion, e.g., LGBT people.

"Gov. Jindal made it clear that he’s so desperate to advance his long-shot presidential campaign that he’ll say or do almost anything, including enable discrimination in the name of religion," JoDee Winterhof, vice president of policy and political affairs at the Human Rights Campaign, said at the time.

IBM is apparently none too pleased with Jindal, and canceled the ribbon-cutting for their new National Service Center in downtown Baton Rouge that was long planned for Monday.The tech company quietly pulled the event from their schedule because of the governor's power play, reports the local CBS affiliate.

While the event could get rescheduled for the fall, IBM is currently keeping mum about their plans. Read more here.

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