By now you've probably heard of the racist Justice of the Peace in Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana -- Keith Bardwell. It has recently come to the public's attention that Bardwell refuses to marry interracial couples (and has been refusing to do it for the last 30 years).
Bardwell says he's not a racist because he marries black couples, and even lets them use his bathroom (can you imagine a more racist statement than that?). He doesn't think he's done anything wrong, because he says life is hard for the children of interracial couples.
Many people are calling for him to be kicked out of office, even the Republican governor -- Bobby Jindal. Jindal says, "This is a clear violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law...disciplinary action should be taken immediately -- including the revoking of his license."
I don't agree with Jindal about much, but he's right about this. JP Bardwell should be terminated and have his license revoked. Not because he's a racist. In a free country, even racists and other stupid people have a right to their beliefs. He should be terminated because he refuses to uphold the law.
In 1967, the Supreme Court made it clear that a government official (which Bardwell certainly is) cannot refuse a couple the right to wed because of any racially-based reason. The court said, "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the state."
Those words are very clear, and they mean Bardwell has been violating the law for the last 30 years -- the same law he swore to uphold and protect. There is no adequate excuse for his actions, regardless of his racist beliefs.
Tangipahoa Parish should get rid of this fool, and if they won't, maybe it's time to take the parish to court. The law is clear, and the parish is responsible for the actions of its officials.
(P.S. -- The picture above is probably Bardwell's dream wedding!)
What a great web log. I spend hours on the net reading blogs, about tons of various subjects. I have to first of all give praise to whoever created your theme and second of all to you for writing what i can only describe as an fabulous article. I honestly believe there is a skill to writing articles that only very few posses and honestly you got it. The combining of demonstrative and upper-class content is by all odds super rare with the astronomic amount of blogs on the cyberspace.
ReplyDelete