Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long, and notes that the mother of the boy who was believed lost in a balloon accident looks a little bit Asian to him.
“The dad is a plain old white guy,” Bardwell said. “Not latin-white, or even Italian, more like British-white – maybe with a bit of Kraut. None of those southern European countries like Greece (not really sure you’d call them ‘white’, anyway), and he doesn’t really have the lilly-white you find in Scandinavia either, so I’d place his breed more mid-latitude. Could be some Welsh in him, he’s got the hair for it.” Bardwell said that he’d only marry Balloon-boy’s dad to another mid-European, “but I’d marry the mom to any slant-eyed guy, they’re pretty well all the same over there. Bless their hearts.
“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.”
Justice Bardwell claimed that he isn’t a racist. “I have an Asian friend in town – Chinese or something. And I ate sushi a couple months ago and really liked it.”
Bardwell has also been making waves recently in his efforts to ensure the purity of the black racial strain. Or at least to keep it from diluting the white strain.
Before leaving Louisiana in some sort of silver aircraft to the strains of “Deutchland Uber Alles”, Justice Bardwell spoke to a random AP reporter:
APInterracial couple denied marriage license in La.
HAMMOND, La. – 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.”
(Picture of craft Justice Bardwell was seen leaving town in)
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.
Thirty-year-old Beth Humphrey and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.
Humphrey told the newspaper 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.
“It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009,” said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzman. “The Supreme Court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry.”
The ACLU was preparing a letter for the Louisiana Supreme Court, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and see if they can remove him from office, Schwartzman said.
“He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it,” Schwartzman 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.
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