CBS News: Judge Defends Denied Interracial Marriage
By Heather Tuesday Oct 20, 2009 5:00am
Nope, no racism to see here. Nothing to see...move along now. Unbelievable. What year does this guy think he's living in? Now that the couple is married the good judge doesn't think he's done any harm.
From CBS News:
The Louisiana Justice of the Peace who refused to marry an interracial couple said on "The Early Show" he doesn't see what the problem is with what he did now, because the couple is already married.
"I'm sorry, you know, that I offended the couple, but I did help them and tell them who to go to and to get married," he said. "And they went and got married, and they should be happily married, and I don't see what the problem is now."
Keith Bardwell, a white justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish in southeastern Louisiana, wouldn't issue a license to or preside over the nuptials for Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, of Hammond, La., who is black.
The two were later married by another area justice of the peace.
Bardwell, who's held his post more than 30 years, said he refused to perform the ceremony because of his concern for the future of the couple's children.
Bardwell told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith, "I've had countless numbers of people that was born in that situation, and that they claim that the blacks or the whites didn't accept the children. And I didn't want to put the children in that position."
Bardwell also said he does not issue marriage licenses, he just performs the ceremonies.
"I recused myself of performing the ceremony. A judge is legally -- can recuse himself of hearing a case or marrying people," he said.
However, according to Humphrey, Bardwell wouldn't issue them a marriage license. Humphrey says she initially spoke to Bardwell's wife, who said her husband would not issue the license because they are an interracial couple.
Humphrey said, "I was just completely shocked. I had no words."
McKay added, "He's not going to marry us because your black, and I'm white. ... It's 2009."
Bardwell denied on "The Early Show" that he broke any laws.
"The law says that I cannot deny mixed race marriages," he said. "And that means prevent them from getting married. And I did not prevent them getting married."
But would Bardwell refuse anyone else a marriage ceremony?
Initially, he said he would not refuse a couple on any other grounds, but then corrected himself, saying, for example, he would refuse to marry a couple if one -- or both of them -- was intoxicated.
"I can recuse myself and tell them to come back when they're sober," he said. "That's legal."
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would use his racism to defend his racist acts.
what a goddamn douchebag.
. . . if nothing else. And definitely nothing else. His arguments for refusing to perform the ceremony are both racist and illogical. Racist for obvious reasons, but illogical because his refusal wouldn't even achieve his stated goal: prevent the production of mixed-race children. Even assuming that the couple could find no one in their area to perform the marriage, they could still have children, but now not only of mixed race but with unmarried parents. And I would assume based on the "family values" kind of guy that the JotP seems to be, that would be at least as much of a problem.
So he's a racist, but not a really thoughtful one. But I repeat myself.
.
But at least with this jerk, people know where they stand.
I grew up in an ethnic neighborhood, mostly Polish with some German, and went to the local Catholic parish grade school. This was at a time when black families were starting to move into the area but anytime they tried to enroll their children in the school of Saint Grndzyscszski the Unpronouncable, they were told that the pickaninnies would have to take instruction in Polish for mandatory bilingual education. There was no such requirement - the school ended Polish language instruction when my father was in third grade - some time around 1923 or so! It was a blatant lie from the priests and nuns who ran the place to keep the undesirables out.
.
Of course it's NOT Racism when Keith Bardwell protects the unborn from their bi-racial parents...
... Because he's doing his part in NOT letting the couple wed.
Of course he could address how society, as he perceives, looks down on bi-racial children. But we see that the Judge took the morals road into the ditch by NOT addressing society but instead, PLACATING HIS PERCEIVED SOCIETAL FEARS AND STIGMAS.
Of course it's not Racism when the Keith Bardwell perpetuates THAT hatred from which Racism feeds off of, NO?
SHORTER Keith Bardwell
"My white friends are scared to mix the races. So I won't."
p.s.
Of course the Judge could take the high road and show the community HOW to accept children from diverse backgrounds, too. YES? But notice, he doesn't.
But in the end, the Judge did the right thing...
... He recused himself.
RECUSE:
–verb (used with object) 1. to reject or challenge (a judge or juror) as disqualified to act, esp. because of interest or bias.
–verb (used without object) 2. to withdraw from a position of judging so as to avoid any semblance of partiality or bias.
What a clear way to say that you're a Racist piece of crap Justice than to recuse yourself from wedding a mixed race couple based on what...
... BUT THEIR RACE!
PEOPLE,
IF THIS WAS ABOUT THE CHILDREN...
... THEN LET BARDWELL DEMONSTRATE HOW HE IS ACTING TO PROTECT BI-RACIAL CHILDREN ALREADY BORN!
HE CAN'T...
... AND HE WON'T. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T! PERIOD!
.
Did he cite the balloon kids as mixed-race examples?
Someone take the shovel out of that guy's hands.
idle hands being the devil's playground and all, at least the shovel keeps him away from his true passion: nooses and burning crosses.
Intoxicated, on drugs, or black. Gotcha judge.
Same - same
Being a person of color is EXACTLY the same as being intoxicated.
trying to kill our rights to legal services like prescriptions for birth control or the day after pill from doctors based on their personal brand of nutty religious wackatude.
Believe me, if the woman had been black and the man was white, it would not have been an issue.
It's the old problem of "Where's the white women at" that these racists can't stand.
If he had a history of marrying mixed race couples where the man was white and the woman was black, you might have a point.
Or if other mixed race couples where the man was white had been denied getting a marriage license recently and took their story to the media, but the media ignored it, you might have a point.
As it is, you don't.
You can find the specific verbiage in a few of the old Anti-miscegenation laws. . .
:)
can you meet me on one of the Open Threads?
I have a couple questions to ask you about the forged quotes you attributed to Limbaugh on here.
I'm having trouble finding your retraction and need some help locating it.
that it is only racism if white men get denied of their birthright to do as they please.
I say what I mean and I mean what I say, and I wasn't 'trying' to say anything of the sort.
I'm against what this guy did and I stated so.
What GOG said was wrong, and there's no need to make a bad situation appear to be something it's not just because you like typing on an internet blog comment thread.
And seriously dude, much as I'd love debating you on anything and everything you'd care to get embarrassed about, I think you'd be much happier hitting the 'Ignore User' tab for me.
I think it was designed for not only the more intolerant among you, but also those who can't control their anger.
Perhaps local restaurants and grocers should refuse to sell groceries to blatant racists, and simply refer him to others who may be willing to provide him with sustenance.
and fined for such dereliction of duty and abuse of a public office.
WHAT F'N CHILDREN? What if this couple doesn't wanna have kids? What about other couples that cannot physically have kids? This dude's an idiot.
There's definitely a shot at Obama here, considering he's mixed race & this dude says that mixed race children aren't accepted. Open your eyes, moron. The president is mostly accepted, even if conservatives don't agree with him.
One of those bi-racial kids could grow up to be President of the US. That would be awful. What a jerk, that J/P!
if he's been a Justice of the Peace since long before Obama was the president and has never issued a wedding license to a mixed race couple?
The situation is bad enough without having to embellish it falsely. Or do you think the stakes have to be raised to get people upset at the injustice of what he did?
to take a shot at Obama. I'm just saying that the fact of the matter is he doesn't believe that mixed race children are accepted by society, when many MANY mixed race people are. Prime example being the president.
in your first post, but I'll accept that.
But let me ask you, did you read either of Obama's books or listen to any of his speeches where he recounted his experiences with acceptance growing up? He overcame them and went on to become the President of the United States, and it's a great story that this guy should be mindful of, but it doesn't mean mixed race children are going to sail through life without some people shunning them. It wasn't always that way for him. What this man is doing is wrong, but extending it to Obama is ridiculous. You have to want to extend it to Obama to make that case.
as a mixed human-troll breed. It musta have been tough...
You know, as a parent of 2 mixed-race kids, I am finding the "Tragic Mulatto" story a wee bit hard to believe. It may have been the case for Obama, Halle Berry, Lenny Kravitz and Slash, but time has moved on. No kid is going to sail through life unscathed. In my neck of the woods, mixed-race kids are 10 a penny. They seem to be fine. Incidentally, my eldest's best friend is a little girl of Tamil origin. Race doesn't even come into it.
"I can recuse myself and tell them to come back when they're sober," he said. "That's legal."
Yep! Come back when your both black OR white. Efin' moron.
I would assume the marriage license issued to a couple is awarded when both partners are sober, even in Louisiana, and probably with a minimum and maximum waiting time (But again, Louisiana and Code Napoleon, so that could be PIDOOMA on my part).
So it's not two people just get drunk and decided to marry. I'd marry anyone with a license sober enough to remain standing long enough to take the vows. If I were a Justice of the Peace. And If I were in Louisiana. Make hay while the sun shines.
It's not about race. Not to the racists.
and taking "racist" in its most negative meaning. Is this guy a "racist" or a "bi-racist"? One could reasonably assume he is a segregationist. And his opinion and behaviors are certainly worthy of reprimand but is there a valuable distinction between these two notions? Just speculating about a hypothesis.
This guy is a racist and I see little value in splitting hairs.
Can't somebody fire this vile creature?!?
Well, can't have any biracial children you know; they'll grow up to fail - and if they succeed - then some asshole like Limpballs will try to make them fail.
I wish more people would marry those of other races til it becomes the norm.
Gosh - this guy is a great example of the master race - fat, blotchy, bleary-eyed and hateful. Easy to see why he's so arrogant...
The sooner this slimy worm crawls back under whatever rock he came from the better.
...I'm sure he would not perform that ceremony either. These are all those family values learned from the good book(s). I'd bet he is more afraid of god's law then man's. This is a very good example to show just what all the thumpers are afraid of regarding gay marriage, abortion and anything else they see as sin. It pits their jobs against their faith, as it should. Build up that wall, Mr. Jefferson! FIRE HIM/IMPEACH HIM or give him a job issuing the marriage licenses. ;)
When is this guy's white hood coming back from the cleaners?
I'll bet he's wondering too (for his next TV appearance on Fox)
Not sure why he hasn't appeared yet; he should become an instant hero.
Breaks obvious civil rights laws while claiming to be the protector of children...total racist bullshit.
such. So not a real judge, basically a glorified county clerk. This jackass is not just a racist idiot, but an incompetent buffoon going off a trip on the little power he has.
I betcha this is one of them "small guvmint" conservative types too... which is always ironic, since these people are all too eager to get into other people's business (they just don't want to pay for it)
Saying he is trying to protect the children is lame and condescending to the couple. As if he knows what would be better for their own children than they do. Sorry judge, this bs doesn't fly in today's world. Check your calendar, the fifties were some years ago and we've evolved...or at least some of us have.
... so don't be sorry. ;-)
Was he so stupid that he thought this would not become an issue or is he so out of touch that he thought it wasn't an issue. Either way he has no business being a judge and should step down immediately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm5fp7QScCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUiWdiL472Q
That is why they had to go to another judge. Idiot. By definition, if he really HADN'T prevented them, they'd have been married by him.
If an employer refused someone a job because they were black and was sued, how far would the defense "well, the guy got a job later that week, so..." fly?
The really sad part is this A**hole tries to hide behind concern for the potential children? What if they never wanted kids or adopted? Would THAT mean he would marry them?
The Justice is an obvious liar who doesn't even believe his own lies.
The moderator should have called him out and asked him to give the name of at least one of the bi-racial children who had to suffer from prejudice.
Breeding Between the Lines (6:35)
Truth_Critic
I'm so glad you posted that link!!! Thank you!!! I have been telling people for years that interacial kids are much healthier and have better immunities. And I'm just a dog groomer, but one with a little canine biology under my belt and I will tell you.. mutts are the healthiest dogs! And lately, all the hype is over designer breeds. Why? Cuz they are healthier, have less genitic problems, and better temperments.
Good job!
His concern for mixed race children makes his racism noble?
Our great nation can't be post-racial until a generation of these jerks just die off.
(I mean that in the nicest way possible)
has been interacial couples parading themselves around trying to get attention and getting none because no one cares, this judge is at least 20 years behind the times.
Yeah, we don't want some Irish bint marryin' one of our Scottish lads!
Alba was invaded by a Keltic people called the Scots, who lived in north Ireland.
Which is why Alba is now called Scotland.
Go pict on someone else;)
.
'Ere's Scotland, 'ere's Ireland, and 'ere's the sea in-bewteen! Git Out!
you both got yer arses kicked by the English. Bad teeth and all.... LOL. ;-P
I know several mixed race couples and their children are more well adjusted than a lot of other children I know. It all depends on how the parents treat their children. This judge should be forced to step down. Why do these idiots think everyone has to think like they do. It's none of his business. His job is to marry people not worry about their children or how they are raised.
"I know several mixed race couples and their children are more well adjusted than a lot of other children I know."
The President of the United States for one.
It's ironic to me that this JP is in Louisiana, which has 200+ years of racial mixing as an integral part of its history and culture.
featuring as a hero Pinkney Pinchbak, the first US Governor of African heritage. He was biracial and from Louisiana.
Apache, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English, French, etc., and while I dealt with some crap from ignorant idiots as a child, that was their problem, not mine. And I have had a life with my share of hardships, but my mixedness wasn't a part of that.
And amongst my extended family and my generation and younger of that family, we have various mixes of Hispanic, African-American, European, Native American, Filipino, East Indian, Korean, etc. and there's nothing wrong with that!
The judge is an idiot, but really, when someone has the views he holds, it usually means they don't want us (mixed people) to exist. Plain and simple.
...really doesn't appear to be a mean person. Racism is sometimes like having a disease.
Racists are seldom mean. They just don't cotton to the mixin' of races.
And segregationist is just another word for racist.
And the "bi-racial" stuff is a sad effort to mitigate the racism.
They just accessorize with axe handles and nooses!
What about the potential children of the two alcoholics he would tell to "come back later"?
What a sad, sorry little miserable person.
Keep people down and uneducated and this is the type of person who gets voted into office.
Oh, ayund wun mower thang. I su-port Sayruh Paylun fer preycedent.
habbily marruhd now, y'all... crawl back under your rock! eecchh!
We just hung those black folk from the trees to keep the limbs from blowing too hard in the wind. I apologize to they kin folk if they necks snapped in the process.
:)
Surprised he didn't tell them to come back as soon as he isn't a black man trying to marry a white woman.
with "Jack" the JP.
Could a landlord refuse to rent to a bi-racial couple based solely on their race, and then claim to have broken no law if the couple rented an apartment elsewhere?
!!!!!
O_o
...but I'll bet he's allowed to not marry the people if he thinks it isn't "right"...
Seems to me he's not a clerk-type employee of the state, he's an independant who's not an agent of the State and he probably isn't obligated by law to marry people just because they present themselves to be married. I think he's allowed to be arbitrary.
An annoying racist asshole? No doubt. Unfortunately, I think he's apparently within his "rights" to deny others their rights...
The only solution is to wait for the fucker and fuckers like him to croak and take their bullshit with them.
In Louisiana. http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/164/Defaul....
A LA JOP apparently holds court and acts as a judge for small claims and stuff.
I imagine a judge can do anything he wants, in terms of carrying out his duties or making rulings. They decide the law, that's kind of the point. Judges have defended slavery, and segregation, and all manner of other stuff.
But when they're this out of step with the times and with public morality and case law, it's clearly time for the boot.
and it holds as much power. It is basically a glorified court clerk position. The only requirements seem to be to a) have graduate high school, b) not being a felon, and c) not being older than 70 yrs old.
Most definitively his position does not give him the latitude to interpret the law (you can't if you haven't passed the bar among other things...)
Anyone want to venture a guess as to what party this fine, upstanding gentleman belongs to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDCu4Jj3-xs
If more judges had Bardwell's courage, Falcon the Balloon Boy would have been spared a lifetime of racial confusion.
Everyone knows people of different races must have a certificate before beginning procreative copulation. At least it works that way with your mixed race heterosexuals.
...according to some news articles I've seen about this. But the qualifications for this office start out with "The candidate shall be of good moral character."
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that being a racist is not compatible with "good moral character."
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/Portals/0/electi...
... in the bible belt that is viewed as an asset.
It always amazes me that people use the "but what about the children?!" defense for their stupid, bigoted bullshit. The anti-gay marriage creeps do the same thing. Guess what? Kids don't give a shit.
...the Judge went on to say, "I had lots of colored kids in front of me over the years (as a Judge) who comitted crimes, I know how ignorant them niggrah youngin's is."
If I lived down South I'd pack my bags and head North... Quickly! They're just too inbred to repair down there!
I wonder if he's a "pinhead" or a "Patriot"??
I wonder how this judge responds to latinas marrying gringos. My wife is from Peru and we have a wonderful 2 year old boy who will be able to speak 2 languages when he grows up. Would this judge have a problem with that?
Meant to post a reply
the Hispanic side of my family (maternal grandfather) came from Louisiana and there is a heavy Spanish influence in parts of the state. That said, this was before those pesky Mexicans broke loose and started calling theirseffs "La Raza."
a little Lazy Bon Bon Eating Roulette Player?
Could the overworked excuse “think about the children…?” still be used if one of the couple would have been a man?
but then the threat would be double and to other people's children!
is a biracial child and he seemed to have done okay. His daughters are 1/4 white and it looks to me like they're doing okay. What about Halle Berry? Any complaints on Ms. Berry winning an Oscar? Nope. Didn't think so. She's doing very okay. These are but a few examples of biracial children who are doing very well in America in the 21st Century. Judge whathisfuck is a Loozyanna swamp land throwback.
parents took great care not to mix, and look how well she and her sister turned out!
/ snark
..I entered "happibly" as in "happibly married" as the good erstwhile KKK J.O.P stated.
Anyone else have that problem?
Is this guy a moron or what? I thought it was bad enough in Texas, where JP's don't have to have a law degree or even a license to practice. It's like putting a toddler in a kitchen with a cookbook then turning out the lights. Does he even realize that he just compared this young miscegenate couple to people who are roaring drunk.
him believing that everyone shares his racist views, and that if this couple "came to their senses" they see they were making a big mistake.
Judge: You want to marry a NEEEEGRO??? Surely, you must be drunk!
Ms. Humphrey: Your Honor, I am not drunk, and my name's not Shirley.
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