This just floored me:

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La. - Yahoo! News

"Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long."

LOL! Most inTRAracial marriages don't last long! What the hell kind of comment is that?!?

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He let's them use his bathroom! That confirms it ...he can't be a racist!


Wow, just....wow.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

I guess I should be surprised but I am not and for that its plain so sad, that racism still exists in our world today... I sincerely hope the couple found a better more educated person to marry them, for he certainly was not the right person. Peace to the couple. Catherine

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in memory of my beloved beautiful brother Sonny who is now an angel in heaven

Yes I could not believe this when I read the paper this morning. I don't know what to say. I feel sorry for this person and I will say a prayer for him and those like him to wake up.

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Eat Chinese food you'll be hungry in half an hour. Eat Italian food you'll be hungry in two weeks!

He has been asked to resign

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It appears that incompetence is still alive and well too. Since this headline is an example of her skills, MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer should be fired. Unless of course, that many angry man objects. LOL.

"Many angry man wouldn't marry interracial couple"

It left the AP wire with this headline "Man's halt of interracial marriage sparks outrage" Hardly the author's fault of how Yahoo decided to play with the words. And seriously, if the most you can say about this article is that Yahoo's title is lacking a colon or dash to help you read it better, one must wonder what motive you have to discredit the author.

I bet there's a lot of ignorant people who support him. That's the sad and scary part. One idiot we could handle but I fear most keep their mouths shut, at least in public anyway.

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Eat Chinese food you'll be hungry in half an hour. Eat Italian food you'll be hungry in two weeks!

That man is a bigot and acts like a donkey! He's holding people back. He's proliferating hatred. He say he's not a racist. (Har har!) He says he does it because he's worried of the fate of their 'offspring.' He didn't even have the decency to call them 'children.' Nope. He had to say 'offspring' as if they were some strange new breed of animal. This kind of behavior, this kind of thinking, coming from anyone, makes me disgusted.

I hope they give him the boot. I hope his daughter/son marries interracially and that have a whole bunch of beautiful interracial children. Maybe his karma will lead his wife to have her own interracial marital affair. Not that I condone doing that, or hurting anyone in such a manner, but darnit, he would deserve soemthing like that! What a jerk!!!! If I was that young couple, I'd be slapping some kind of major lawsuit on him for discrimination and harrassment, or something! I understand they already found someone else to marry them, but I would NOT let this go! I'd make a lesson out of him; we need more compassion in this country and to be a blatant bigot like this is just downright shameful!

Do you think he would have acted the same way if the woman had been an American and the man had been, say, Japanese? Or maybe Brazilian? Or what if he'd been Egyptian? Egypt is in Africa, you know. Do you think he only acted this way because the groom was a black man? I can't help but believe that in his own head he would have been boiling with hatred had it been a white man wanting to marry a black woman! This kind of bigot is probably the kind that wears a pointed white cloak, with his 'brothers' and grand dragons or wizards or whatever they call themselves. The kind that make an effort to actually promote hatred and bigotry and racism, as they meet under the cover or darkness in a stand of trees.


This topic has just got me so darn mad I can't stand it!!

I live just outside of that particular parish. I have been shocked recently by the amount of racism I have personally experienced. Even though I was raised in the south, II thought this was over with. It makes me so sad, and I worry about the children who are brought up around this type of hatred and ignorance. I'm not going to get into details, but as a teacher, I am doing whatever I can to make a difference--it's difficult with some of the closed-mind, bigoted, and unaccepting parents that are in the area. I saw a great quote this morning that I added to my overview... “When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.” Some people have a long ways to go.

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If you're not living on the edge, you're wasting space.

I guess my first thought is why would this couple want a man to marry them that does not believe in their marriage? Why would you want to have someone *bless* your marriage who had such strong objections. Just heard this morning that the couple hired a lawyer and will be going after $$$$$. What a surprise.
I am not saying what this man has done is right, but I bet we wouldn't be hearing about it all over the news if it had been a black justice of the peace refusing to marry the couple! The media is having a field day with this one...

I was in a store the other day looking for a kiss cd. The electronics manager was called because I had an article that it was specific to this chain of stores and they were all supposed to have it. He looked me DEAD IN THE FACT and said "Im sorry we dont have it.. we dont get many of your kind here asking for it.." I said "By my kind do you mean WHITE or EDUCATED?? If i would have said that the NAACP and Al Sharpton would have been camped on my lawn!!
Another case of they can but we cant... A white person makes a racisit comment and it is all over the news.. A black one does it and nothing gets said... AMAZING...

"Just heard this morning that the couple hired a lawyer and will be going after $$$$$. What a surprise. " and this may be a racist comment however, I AM NOT AT ALL SHOCKED!! Typical to sue over this...

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Be careful what you wish for.....

Racism swings both ways...

While I don't condone what this man did, and in fact as a judge he is suppose to impartial and fair, here's my take on it:

If this were a situation where a MD refused to perform an abortion based on his/her personal beliefs it wouldn't have made the news. If this were a situation where a pharmacist refused to dispense either birth control pills or the morning after pill--would we hear about it?

In all the cases, I would suggest that the MD, the pharmacist and this particular judge look at other employment. Either you can set aside your personal feelings/opinions and provide the service that you are obligated to, or you can't.

As a minister, my mother and my father have been called upon to perform weddings that they didn't feel comfortable doing because they didn't think that couple were ready or should be married---however, I never knew my dad or mom to refuse. So, if my parents could set aside their personal feelings, then this judge should have been able to as well...

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

I understand your position, marilyn, but I guess I'd disagree. An MD might have a passion for medicine and for people and I would say that your position would mean that the only people who should be doctors are people who are willing to perform abortions. I think that would omit a great number of caring, qualified people from our doctor pool. Same for pharmacists. And same for ministers.

I don't think that simply choosing to practice a profession obligates you to perform EVERY possible function that career might ever entail.

I've known ministers to refuse to marry couples they did not believe should be getting married. If their role is to be accountable to God, and they believed God was not in the situation, then I believe such a minister would have an obligation to decline to be a party to something they believed was not a holy union.

I have no idea if the judge is a racist or not. I know that when I was a kid in my small hometown, the only races were Hispanic and Caucasian, and neither race was all that interested in the idea of intermarriage. There were a lot of cultural differences that I think many people recognized would be a challenge. I absolutely could care less who marries whom, race-wise, but it is a truth that in some situations, like it or not, children of mixed marriages are sometimes treated poorly, even today. It's wrong and it shouldn't happen, so I'm not condoning it, and I didn't see a photo of this judge to know if he is from a much older generation... but if he *is* in his 70's or 80's, my guess is that he is basing his statements on experience. He's probably seen a lot of children harassed because they were bi-racial, and he has probably seen a lot of bi-racial couples divorce because the pressures of society strained their relationships to the point that they broke.

It's easy for us to sit in judgment and think someone needs to get with the times, but for a lot of people, I think that's easier said than done. Hopefully in another generation these types of thoughts won't even cross anyone's mind.

This guy is a real piece of work.....class A Jerk! He was on the Morning Show today, unapolgetic or repentant. The governor has commented that "he should have his license revoked", so this guy says...."ha, I don't have a license...I am an Elected Official!" I understand JOP's can refuse to perform ceremonies if the people are intoxicated, but I don't think he should be able to refuse for a protected reason and I believe Race is a protected class.

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

If a person chooses a profession, knowing what all it entails, then I would hope that they would be willing to perform all aspects of that profession, KWIM?
It's kind of like saying a Police office should not necessarily have to ever shoot a person. Most never do, but it is a possibility every time they go on shift. in "power". We can agree to disagree. I do understand what you are saying, though.

FWIW--my parents are ministers of the "called" variety. They don't get paid for any of their services. They do it because they feel that they were called and were ordained by the church.

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

Yeah... but being ready to shoot someone is a pretty critical aspect of being a policeman.

I'd venture to say that there are many MD's who are never, ever confronted with the request to perform an abortion. From ophthalmologists to pediatricians to geriatrics MD's, it's not even an issue. And I think it would be a very sad day if someone who has a heart for women and babies couldn't practice medicine because his conscience would not allow him to perform abortions.

A policeman is in a much different situation because the need to shoot someone is not something you can refer to another officer, kwim? A physician can most certainly tell a patient who requests an abortion that they will need to see another doctor for that service. In fact, doctors frequently send patients on to specialists for procedures they *can't* perform... so I don't see how this is any different. My MD made the choice to stop delivering babies except in the case of emergencies when he's working the ER.

I'd say a pharmacist is likely an employee of a pharmacy and is obligated to dispense medicines carried by his employer, or if there are multiple pharmacists on duty and someone's conscience will not allow him/her to dispense BC, they can simply call on another pharmacist to fill the script.

If a pharmacy is going to require a pharmacist to violate his conscience then I'd say the pharmacist has an obligation *not* to take on employment at that location and needs to open up his/her own shop where he/she can call the shots, or look for an employer whose values are aligned with his/hers.

The ministers I know aren't paid for their ceremony performing duties, but often an honorarium is given to them. Just as in the Catholic church there are reasons the church does not accept some marriages on religious grounds, many other faiths have religious reasons for not joining some couples in marriage. If, for example, two married people have an affair, divorce their original spouses, and then want to be married to one another, I would assume that many ministers would not be able to perform such a ceremony and would refer them to a JOP if they were bent on tying the knot.

I don't disagree. But, when a person enters medical school they may make the conscience decision to not go into a field that doesn't even enter into the whole quagmire that is abortion (like cardiologist, geriatrics, orthopedics, etc.) to avoid the issue--which is great. and like you said, they can always refer to another MD.
Pharmacists are a little different--there may not be another pharmacist on call to refer to...(small towns sometimes only have the one pharmacy).

But, for example an ER doctor, may be called upon to perform an D&C--and he/she may not be able to pass it on to another MD (again, I come from and live in Rural areas where one doctor may be the ONLY MD). It's not the MDs place to judge the morality, and if they are then perhaps they should reconsider their profession.
What about the MDs who treat those afflicted by STDs? or alcoholism?

I'm sure that there are some things that all Drs. would prefer not to treat--but if they aren't willing to overcome their own feelings, who would treat???

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

This is more about 'feelings' though. It's about core beliefs. I do not believe that legally anyone should be forced to do something of that nature that is a violation of their core belief system.

I understand rural. I'm *from* extremely rural, where the nearest hospital with more than ten beds was well over an hour away. It doesn't change my belief that is an encroachment on a physician's personal liberty to encumber him to perform services he finds morally objectionable if he is to hang out his shingle at all.

I woudn't force a minister who freelances as a house painter to paint a brothel.

I wouldn't force a PETA member to carry steak in his grocery store, even if it was the only store for 100 miles.

There are many, many services our local doctors - all in family practice - simply *can't* provide. Ambulances to larger facilities and referrals to 'the city' are how we make our way to a great number of procedures and tests. I believe we get excellent care... but I do not have the expectation that any doctor will be able or willing to perform any and all medical procedures at all times.

I support the JPs right to have the opinion he has. I just think he didn't choose wisely in how he expressed his opinion.
All "merchants" reserve the right to NOT provide services to people as they choose. It is not a RIGHT that a person shop in Walmart :-). Thus, I think that if this JP was a JP with limited "powers", more of a "in name only", I think he should have a right to refuse services.

Now, that said--I believe there are certain professions that don't or shouldn't allow their personal beliefs to override their obligations to the public. Medical professionals are included in that, law enforcement/military are others. I worked w/ an officer who, on a personal level did not support the death penalty. He never let that interfer with his obligation to investigate a crime and arrest a person--who would be facing the death penalty if found guilty. I worked w/ a Paramedic who was a devout Jehovah's Witness. He didn't believe in receiving certain medical care or treatment. His core belief did not prevent him from providing medical care to those that needed it.
*shrugs* You are willing to accept that an MD would allow his beliefs to overshadow your need for a specific type of care. And in some instances, doing that could violate the Hippocratic oath ("first do no harm".) I understand when an MD is not comfortable with treating or diagnosing certain things because they don't have the knowledge, capabilities or abilities. But, for me, it is completely unacceptable for an MD to refuse to treat because it goes against his/her moral compass.....

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

Except that if the physican's moral compass points to the doing away with a fetus as being *harm*, then he cannot morally remove it from it's mothers body.

ETA: I understand your point about the policeman, but guess I see a different match-up on the analogy. Just like I do think a Dr. should perform necessary *tests* on a patient and then refer them on if the patient's desired procedure falls outside his moral compass, I think the policeman you noted should be doing what he is doing in following through with investigations, etc.

However, I would never require that policeman to be part of the firing squad that carries out that legal penalty.

People do have a right to their opinions however they should not hold jobs that would force them to go against their moral beliefs. If you don't believe in birth control or the morning after pill then don't work for a pharmacy. If you are a PETA member don't work for a butcher shop or a place that sells meat. And if you are against interracial marriage then don't put yourself in a position to have to marry interracial couples.

I have been out of work since the end of June and I would not apply anywhere there would a possibility of doing something I don't believe in. That's what it comes down to.

And I know it's only a tv show but on House right now they are portraying a medical dilemma where a young doctor allowed a dictator of a country to die because he knew the dr would be committing genocide and killing millions of people. He is now experiencing guilt as he should. A doctor's job is to save lives and perform procedures. If he did not want to risk saving the life of someone whom he considers not fit to live he should not have become a doctor.

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Eat Chinese food you'll be hungry in half an hour. Eat Italian food you'll be hungry in two weeks!

ITA. The judge is not doing his job...he should not be a judge if he is discriminating against people based upon their skin color(s) , and violating their rights.

I cannot find what duties, specifically the JP, has in Louisana.
Some places it's more of an "honorary" title with no real authority.
I'd like to see what duties/functions a JP in LA has an obligation to perform.

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

I agree. He's not a judge is he? And is there only *one* JP in a parish or something?

I don't know that I'm comfortable with the statement, "If you wanna marry ANYBODY you have to be willing to marry EVERYBODY!"

But if the role of a JP, as a governmental official, is to essentially rubber stamp all legal marriages, I don't think he has a leg to stand on. I think if he wants to marry only certain couples than he needs to get state approval more in line with what a minister would have than a public servant. I think when you're a government employee, particularly if you are the *only* person filling a role, that you give up some freedom to be selective.

I think we agree on the JP issue....just not the other things discussed!

JPs are often like captains of boats--can perform marriages, but don't have to.

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"Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. —Elbert Hubbard"

Exactly. He CHOSE to work for the local govt rather than own his own private business in which he could marry people. If he had his own website, solicited his own clients, and worked for himself, then he can choose who he does business with.

If you are a pharmacist, you can CHOSE to work for a company like Walgreens and dispense the drugs in their catalog....or you can open your own mom-n-pop drug store, and CHOOSE what drugs you dispense. If you are a doctor, you can CHOOSE to work at a public hospital, clinic or such...or open your own private practice. It is all the same as if you are a vegetarian and have a huge problem with meat, it would be silly for your to work at McDonalds and expect them to make exceptions about your beliefs.

These people are getting paid to do a job...not getting paid to do what they believe in. If you don't like something that is standard practice at your job, you always have the opportunity to leave. No one is forced into employment at a particular company.

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