If you and your significant other are planning on tying the knot in Louisiana, make sure you're both the same race.
"Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana" were the first words I read in the paper while eating breakfast last Friday morning.
The words were a little startling, but mostly they made me extremely angry. Those emotions were only amplified as I continued to read the story in the Associated Press.
Let's hear it for Keith Bardwell, undoubtedly Louisiana's finest justice of the peace who proudly denied a couple their marriage license for one sole reason: the bride is white and the groom is black.
Apparently Bardwell has given himself the task of deciding who can get married and who can't. This is not the first couple he has denied a marriage license; any interracial couple who calls on Bardwell for his legal services is rejected.
At least he's consistent. It seems we still have a long way to go to reach the American goals of integration and equality.
Bardwell justified his decisions by claiming that most interracial couples do not last.
He may have been correct in his claim that there are higher divorce rates for interracial couples than for same-race couples (after 10 years of marriage, interracial couples have a 41% chance of marriage disruption, while same-race couples have a 31% chance, according to a 1998 government report.)
But as justice of the peace, it really is none of Bardwell's business if the marriage is going to last or not. He has no right to refuse a couple their license based on statistics.
Bardwell argued, "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." However, since Bardwell is so keen on statistics, he would have known that there is actually a higher chance of marital disruption for specifically all-black couples (47%) than for mixed race couples.
But since he is "not a racist," he would never deny that category of newlyweds their marriage license. Smooth move, Bardwell.
"Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana" were the first words I read in the paper while eating breakfast last Friday morning.
The words were a little startling, but mostly they made me extremely angry. Those emotions were only amplified as I continued to read the story in the Associated Press.
Let's hear it for Keith Bardwell, undoubtedly Louisiana's finest justice of the peace who proudly denied a couple their marriage license for one sole reason: the bride is white and the groom is black.
Apparently Bardwell has given himself the task of deciding who can get married and who can't. This is not the first couple he has denied a marriage license; any interracial couple who calls on Bardwell for his legal services is rejected.
At least he's consistent. It seems we still have a long way to go to reach the American goals of integration and equality.
Bardwell justified his decisions by claiming that most interracial couples do not last.
He may have been correct in his claim that there are higher divorce rates for interracial couples than for same-race couples (after 10 years of marriage, interracial couples have a 41% chance of marriage disruption, while same-race couples have a 31% chance, according to a 1998 government report.)
But as justice of the peace, it really is none of Bardwell's business if the marriage is going to last or not. He has no right to refuse a couple their license based on statistics.
Bardwell argued, "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." However, since Bardwell is so keen on statistics, he would have known that there is actually a higher chance of marital disruption for specifically all-black couples (47%) than for mixed race couples.
But since he is "not a racist," he would never deny that category of newlyweds their marriage license. Smooth move, Bardwell.
Keith Bardwell also claimed he was doing the world a favor by refusing interracial marriages because he thinks half-black, half-white children are shunned in today's society.
I agree that life would be more difficult as a mixed-race child because it would be harder to find and identify with a group of people of the same heritage.
However, society offers many obstacles that make living more difficult. This doesn't mean we should run away from them. Couples shouldn't let the complications of society stop them from starting families.
No man named Keith Bardwell, or anyone else for that matter, should think they have the right to prevent any family from reaching its full potential.
In fact, there are now 6.1 million multiracial Americans in the United States and that number is not decreasing. The demographics of this country are changing with great thanks to the multiracial population, whether Bardwell believes it or not.
Has he even taken the time to realize that the leader of our nation is a multiracial American? Next time he wants to deny an interracial couple their marriage license, he might want to think about what kind of future leader he is prohibiting them from having.
I agree that life would be more difficult as a mixed-race child because it would be harder to find and identify with a group of people of the same heritage.
However, society offers many obstacles that make living more difficult. This doesn't mean we should run away from them. Couples shouldn't let the complications of society stop them from starting families.
No man named Keith Bardwell, or anyone else for that matter, should think they have the right to prevent any family from reaching its full potential.
In fact, there are now 6.1 million multiracial Americans in the United States and that number is not decreasing. The demographics of this country are changing with great thanks to the multiracial population, whether Bardwell believes it or not.
Has he even taken the time to realize that the leader of our nation is a multiracial American? Next time he wants to deny an interracial couple their marriage license, he might want to think about what kind of future leader he is prohibiting them from having.
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