It appears that for Keith Bardwell justice is not blind. I thought we had moved past these types of stories, but apparently not. The headline is Louisiana Justice of the peace denies interracial couple marriage license. Yes, you read that right. Keith Bardwell refused to sign an interracial couple’s marriage license because he believes that the children of interracial couples will suffer because the marriage won’t last.
No, this isn’t some sort of joke, but Keith Bardwell would like you to believe that he’s not a racist, and that he performs marriages for African-American couples all the time. That reasoning is as bad as “I’m not racist, ask my black friend over there.”
Read more about Keith Bardwell, and the couples reaction to the denial of their marriage license below.
According to the story, found here, Bardwell really does believe he is doing the community a service by denying the couple a marriage license. His exact reasoning is:
“I don’t do interracial marriages because I don’t want to put children in a situation they didn’t bring on themselves,” Bardwell said. “In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer.”
Another story also quotes Bardwell, and he’s really not doing himself any favors with this quote.
“I’m not a racist. I have plenty of black friends. When an inter-racial couple marries and has children, the blacks don’t accept them and the whites don’t accept them. I feel like I’m putting innocent kids in a bad situation. The Attorney General’s office has told me I’m in violation of the law, but I have the right to recuse myself. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong.”
So, what he’s saying is that he knows he’s in violation of the law, but he just doesn’t care. The code of conduct for judicial officers in Louisana requires that Bardwell “shall perform judicial duties without bias or prejudice.” Bardwell doesn’t think he’s prejudiced because he treats all interracial couples the same, like dirt.
The couple is planning on consulting the Department of Justice about filing a possible complaint, and the ACLU is also weighing in. This may be one of those rare times where I am fully on board with the ACLU. The law requires that Bardwell not discriminate against couples seeking a marriage. Louisiana law requires a 72 hour waiting period from the time of application for the license until the ceremony. If one or both of the parties have previously been married then you must show proof that the prior marriage has been legally ended, and you must show a birth certificate and a social security card. There are no restrictions on marriage related to the race of the couple.
I believe that once a judge begins deciding that he is above the law, and not required to uphold the laws of the state that he took an oath to uphold, then it is time for that judge to be removed from office. The law requires that Bardwell preform this ceremony, it is not up to him to decide what is best for the couple. Given the fact that divorce rates are high no matter what segment of the population you look at it really crosses the line to simply look at a couple and decide on your own that they are going to fail, so they should be denied the chance to get married.
I would love to know what you all think about Keith Bardwell, the Louisiana Justice of The Peace who denies interracial couples marriage license simply because he believe that the marriage will have a negative impact on the children. I say that this guy doesn’t deserve to be a member of the judiciary and ought to be removed from office, but what do you think?
October 16th, 2009 at 7:23 am
It is STATISTICALLY proven that inter-racial couples do not stay together as long as same race couples due to the multiple differences in their cultures and beliefs. PLUS, you can’t force someone to sign a legal document. They just need to go to someone else, and if they last then AWESOME. BUT, it’s not fair to call him a racist just because he’s from Louisiana and doesn’t want to marry a mixed race couple. Just look at the real facts.. and let well enough alone.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:45 am
The Judge took an oath to uphold the law and, at that, he’s a failure. Deciding who you’ll marry or not is not an option. The law is the law and this judge does not have the right to interject his personal views when citizens and taxpayers come to him to perform a service.
The south is still pathetic when it comes to accepting how we view race in the 21st century. The judge’s argument just reeks of racism, but he probably doesn’t even realize that or how his quotes play north of the Mason-Dixon.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Dear Mrs. Jones,
You ignorant slut. An official of the State of Louisiana is REQUIRED to follow the law of the land. He has no CHOICE but to perform all duties without bias. This IS the definition of bias.
People, this is NOT 1945! Just because you “let” black people use your bathroom does not mean you aren’t a RACIST. A RACIST, by definition, is someone who believes that people of differing shades of skin have different rights. SORRY MRS. JONES, IT IS AGAINST FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE BASED ON THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. Or did you not get that memo?
Federal civil rights laws are no joke, ESPECIALLY if you are a government official. Take this biggot OUT OF OFFICE and lock him up in FEDERAL PRISON for about 5 years. And they should make it a point to put him in a cell with a BLACK MAN. That would be poetic justice.
Mrs. Jones, you should be ASHAMED of yourself.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:21 am
[...] Ryan at Right Juris: The couple is planning on consulting the Department of Justice about filing a possible complaint, and the ACLU is also weighing in. This may be one of those rare times where I am fully on board with the ACLU. The law requires that Bardwell not discriminate against couples seeking a marriage. Louisiana law requires a 72 hour waiting period from the time of application for the license until the ceremony. If one or both of the parties have previously been married then you must show proof that the prior marriage has been legally ended, and you must show a birth certificate and a social security card. There are no restrictions on marriage related to the race of the couple. [...]
October 16th, 2009 at 8:26 am
This person and story makes me ill.
I am marrying my fiance next week after having know her for more than 10 years. I am white and she is black and we are the best of friends. We met in college and our friendship developed into love over the course of the last decade. Our wedding will be performed in the Catholic church with about 200 of our closest friends and family present. We are very fortunate to have not encountered any type of hate such as that spewed by this JP (and not to mention Mrs. Jones). Both of our families welcomed our relationship with open arms and we have no worry about how our children will be treated nor accepted by society (I guess as long as this JP is not part of our society).
There will be challenges of course, but society is changing quickly. This JP needs to step outside of his small world, stop applying his personal “observations” and hate to the law, and realize that he is only perpetuating the division among races in this country. One rule I have learned over the last 10 years is that if you have to start your statement with the caveat “I’m not a racist….”, then you probably are a racist.
Lastly, we live in a large metro-area in Texas and it saddens me even further that people who live outside of the South still assume the entire South is still racist. This person would offend the majority of Texans, and people should not assume that this is a geographical issue. There are plenty of people living througout this country that share similar views as Mr. Bardwell.
October 16th, 2009 at 10:16 am
If Mr Bardowell cannot separate his personal biases from his professional obligations, he should not be a marriage officer.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Loving v. Virginia. Simple as that.
As an officer of the court, Bardwell has an obligation to uphold federal law. He does not get to pick and chose who he decides to marry based on race.
Mrs. Jones, STATISTICALLY most marriages will end in divorce. Why isn’t Bardwell evaluating all marriages, not just mixed race ones? Your logic is so flawed it’s funny.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Mrs. Jones wrote:
“It is STATISTICALLY proven that inter-racial couples do not stay together as long as same race couples due to the multiple differences in their cultures and beliefs.”
Please provide the statistical proof you mentioned. I’ll bet you keep it in the same drawer where you keep the knife that was used to stab JFK to death. Moron . . . .
October 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Mrs. Jones
If Asian couples stay together longer than white couples, should a justice be allowed to refuse to marry white people?
I don’t think so.
And I don’t think a justice of the peace has any business making decisions about which couples are worthy of being married by him and which aren’t. His job is to perform marriages…period. Not to make judgment calls about whether 2 people have made a decision he can agree with.
Mrs. Jones.
You can’t open a store and just serve white folks. And you can be a justice of the peace and marry only same race couples.
It’s amazing that 150 years after slavery we are still having to explain the definition of equal rights to some people in our own country.
October 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
JUDGE BARDWELL
FINALLY IS HOLDING UP THE CONSTITUTION.
THE LOVING MARRIAGE FOR INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE IS IN TRUTH UNCONSTIUTIONAL.