South Dakota lawmaker apologizes, admits Facebook comment was 'very racist'

Dana Ferguson | Argus Leader

A day after a South Dakota lawmaker said business owners should be able to turn away customers based on their race in a Facebook post, he publicly apologized through the same medium.

In a post late Tuesday night, Rep. Michael Clark said comments he'd made earlier in the week were "very racist."

"I made some comments here on Facebook, defending a Colorado Baker decision not create a cake for a Homosexual [sic] wedding," he wrote in a post on Tuesday. "The comments I made were very racist. I would like to apologize for those comments. Businesses should not be able to discriminate solely based on race, sex, national origin, age, or handicap."

The public apology came hours after the Argus Leader posted a story about the initial Facebook post, in which the Hartford Republican said business owners should be able to discriminate based on race.

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Clark's initial comment came in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's narrow decision Monday siding with a Colorado baker that refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple's wedding.

"He should have the opportunity to run his business the way he wants," Clark wrote. "If he wants to turn away people of color, then that('s) his choice."

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. And the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday didn't answer a question about whether businesses can refuse service to same-sex couples based on strongly-held religious beliefs.

After constituent outrage, Clark deleted his post and offered an apology in an email to the Argus Leader.

His public apology on Facebook came late Tuesday night.

"My comments were made in haste, with the belief that businesses should be able to operate with fewer constraints of a heavy-handed government," he wrote. "Of course, I was wrong, all business should serve everyone, equally."

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call 605-370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com