Friday, October 16, 2009

Progress on Hold


A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

Neither Bardwell nor the couple immediately returned phone calls from The Associated Press. But Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist.

"I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children."

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"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."

If he does an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

and yet, the President of the United States is of mixed race.

Anonymous said...

What century is this again?

RonH

Anonymous said...

"I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. . ."

That's right up there with "some of my best friends are (fill in the blank)".

Offensive on so many levels.

Mo.

Anonymous said...

Did the good old boy take off his white hood for a photo-op.

Evil Eye

Anonymous said...

Actually, I believe the man. Louisiana is quite a different place from Vancouver and perhaps it is nasty when it comes to interracial children. I have a friend from there whose mom basically frogmarched him into the US Navy so he'd get the hell out of town and into places where he'd be treated better. He did and he is.