John Bel Edwards

Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, challenged similar state protections in court to have them nullified.

A stalemate over contracts to provide health insurance next year for 10,000 state employees, retirees and family members ended Thursday.

The order prohibited discrimination in government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Lawyers for Louisiana’s governor and attorney general clashed over the limits of the elected officials’ authority and an executive order aimed at protecting LGBT rights.

By law, all contracts in Louisiana must already protect people from discrimination based on race, gender, religion or political views.

Governor John Bel Edwards is standing strong for equality.

The governor’s attempt to force the state attorney general to sign off on contracts that include LGBT anti-discrimination language was thrown out by a state judge.

Gov. John Bel Edwards issued an executive order Wednesday banning discrimination in state government based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Opponents say the proposal is discriminatory, unnecessary and may harm Louisiana’s economy.

Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards says he’ll issue an executive order when he takes office in January that bans discrimination in state government based on sexual orientation.