Judge in Lousiana refuses to wed interracial couple

Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay, of New Orleans Louisiana just wanted to get married. So, they did what couples, seeking to tie the knot do in their area, they called a justice of the peace. Only, when they did, they were shocked to hear that he would not marry them because they are an interracial couple.
According to this article by the Associate Press, it would seem that Justice Keith Bardwell, of Tangipahoa parish, believes that the children of an interracial union are not accepted by either of the two cultures and that it would not be fair to any future children to marry such couples. He claims: "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," When a couple call him to set up a time for a marriage, he asks them if they are interracial and if they are, he refuses to marry them. He claims that he does not tell them that they cannot get married, just that he won't be the one to marry them.
Humphrey (who is white) and McKay (who is black) are planning on contacting the U.S. Justice department to file a discrimination complaint.


My first reaction when I read this article was total disbelief. I wanted to ask what year it was. I read it out loud for my children to hear and their first reactions were "Hey, he can't do that!". According to the article, Katie Schwartzman (an attorney for the ACLU in Louisiana) sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee asking them to investigate Justice Bardwell because the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that government can NOT tell people whom they can or can't marry. So, no, this guy can't do that. The Justice tried to defend his actions by saying: "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." Honestly I am having issues articulating my feelings on this article. Just by that last statement, where he is trying to justify what he does and claim that his is not a bigot would make me laugh if it weren't so sad