Louisiana justice of peace says he refused to marry mixed race couple out of concern for children they might have

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage licence to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa parish, said it was his experience that most interracial marriages did not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell said. "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 asked everyone who called about marriage if they were a mixed race couple. If they were, he did not marry them.

Bardwell said he had discussed the topic with black and white people, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society did not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and nor did white society.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage. 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."

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and Terence McKay, 32, both of Hammond, said they would consult the US justice department about a discrimination complaint.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, had just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black. She plans to enrol 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 that when she called Bardwell on 6 October to inquire about getting a marriage licence signed his wife told her he would not sign marriage licences 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."

Katie Schwartzmann, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, said it was "really astonishing and disappointing" to see such a case in 2009. "The supreme court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."

The ACLU has asked the Louisiana judiciary committee, which oversees state justices of the peace, to investigate Bardwell and recommended "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.

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