Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who will be speaking twice at the NRA Convention in Indianapolis today, told an amusing story about why he missed a 2006 meeting with the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox: His wife went into unexpected labor with their third child.
The story was a three-fer – a way to remind the audience of his efforts to pass a federal law banning gun confiscation during or after a crisis (inspired by gun confiscation efforts in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, humorous touting of women’s strength and a subtle shout-out to the pro-lifers in the audience.
“My wife and me alone on the bathroom floor, no doctors, no meds for her — I learned a couple of things that night. I learned there’s a reason the good Lord in his infinite wisdom had women be the ones who give birth to babies,” he said with a smile. “If it were up to men, we would never have a baby after the first one of us. I heard the dumbest thing I ever heard a bit after, a friend at church told me, ‘I know exactly what that’s like… I had a kidney stone.’ I didn’t tell that story to my wife. I know that’s not the same!”
Jindal also mentioned what’s likely to be a recurring theme in today’s speeches, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent comment that, “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.”
“In Louisiana, clinging to guns and religion is a good thing – we’ve got both,” he said. “This is a guy who could use his humility, and I think the NRA can be the ones to teach him some humility,”