[StBernard] Tangipahoa Justice of the Peace has gutts

[Westley Annis]

Interesting news story below.  What I find impressive about this JP in
Tangipahoa is he never says what he personally thinks....he always makes his
statements based on his (empircal) observations and analysis - no different
from the observations and analysis of a social scientist.  The ACLU and
others are going to try and paint this guy as a racist, but again, notice
how he chooses his words very carefully.


I say he'll explain himself to any judicial inquiry by saying when he puts
on the black robe, he no longer is a private citizen but a justice of the
peace who must then decide to take various actions based on what he (the JP)
believes to be in the best interest of all - not based on what he privately
thinks.  This JP explains he didn't tell the couple they couldn't get
married, just that he personally would not agree to do the ceremony.  Plus,
he backs up with facts that he marries black people all the time - something
that will make the ACLU efforts difficult to particularly paint him as a
"racist."


Something tells me if this guy has been a JP for over 30 years then he's
well experienced at dancing around land mines.  Also, I'm willing to bet
there must be something in Louisiana law that says a JP is not obligated to
perform any and all marriage requests.


Let me be clear, I'm not saying I agree with his professional position on
this, I'm just saying this is going to be interesting to see how it plays
out and it's going to be as easy for the ACLU as they might think.  I'll
also bet that 95% of the voters in his JP district think exactly like he
does - and he probably know it - so he knows this incident won't have any
impact on his getting reelected.


John


 


Published: 10/16/09, 2:25 AM EDT
By MARY FOSTER

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A white 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. 

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way,"
Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of
black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I
treat them just like everyone else." 

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed
race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said. 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. 

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a
marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help
put them through it." 

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

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

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during
his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years. 

Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they
will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination
complaint. 

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a
welder, just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black. She plans
to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in
minority politics. 

"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not
something you expect in this day and age." 

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a
marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell
will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples. Bardwell suggested
the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish who agreed to
marry them. 

"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And all our
friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're
typical happy newlyweds." 

"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009,"
said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie
Schwartzmann. She said the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 "that the government
cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry." 

The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees
the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and
recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant
bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of
justice." 

"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann
said. 

According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage license
must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour
waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been
married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce. 

Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security
card. 

The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by a Louisiana
minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the
clerk's office. 

"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't think I've
mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, but you have
too. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I
wouldn't do it."