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Louisiana: Justice of the Peace Resigns

hazlnut

hazlnut

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Louisiana: Justice of the Peace Resigns

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 3, 2009

A justice of the peace in Baton Rouge who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned. The justice of the peace, Keith Bardwell, who is white, quit the post with a one-sentence statement to the Louisiana secretary of state, Jay Dardenne, and no explanation of his decision. Mr. Bardwell refused to perform the ceremony for Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay on Oct. 6 because they are of different races. When questioned about his refusal, Mr. Bardwell acknowledged that he routinely recused himself from marrying interracial couples because he believed such marriages caused harm to the couples’ children. Mr. Bardwell’s resignation followed calls for his ouster from several public officials, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, and Senator Mary L. Landrieu, a Democrat.
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The article went on to say that the couple would be suing Mr. Bardwell.

IMO, this is an appropriate response to the incident. It was not his personal belief/opinion that brought about the pressure to resign, it was his personal actions and the clear violation the couples' civil liberties.
 
hazlnut said:
Louisiana: Justice of the Peace Resigns



The article went on to say that the couple would be suing Mr. Bardwell.

IMO, this is an appropriate response to the incident. It was not his personal belief/opinion that brought about the pressure to resign, it was his personal actions and the clear violation the couples' civil liberties.
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The question will ultimately come down to whether, or not, he has the right to deny his service to anyone.
 
apdst said:
The question will ultimately come down to whether, or not, he has the right to deny his service to anyone.
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Wrong. He denied a marriage license on a statistical possibility. Not informed facts. In other words he bull****ted what was clearly a racist decision into a 'think of the children' argument.
 
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Hatuey said:
Wrong. He denied a marriage license on a statistical possibility. Not informed facts. In other words he bull****ted what was clearly a racist decision into a 'think of the children' argument.
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Newsflash: JoP's don't issue marriage licenses.
 
apdst said:
Newsflash: JoP's don't issue marriage licenses.
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So he refused to perform the ceremony for Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay on Oct. 6 because they are of different races. Yeah no he's obviously not a racist now.
 
apdst said:
The question will ultimately come down to whether, or not, he has the right to deny his service to anyone.
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He was being paid by taxpayers to provide service to the public.

That means anyone.

If he didn't think he could do that he should have stayed in private practice.
 
Joe1991 said:
He was being paid by taxpayers to provide service to the public.

That means anyone.

If he didn't think he could do that he should have stayed in private practice.
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LOL...JoP's don't get paid by the tax payers. JoP's pay to become JoP's. Then, they are paid by the citizens who use there services. Welcome to the real world.
 
I've been waiting for him to resign. He is the biggest embarrassment to my state... Besides David Vitter of course :doh
 
Welcome to post-prop 8 America. Where anyone's civil rights can be voted away by a simple majority. First it was the gays.....what next....inter-racial marriages? Then what....marriage only for white christians?
 
apdst said:
LOL...JoP's don't get paid by the tax payers. JoP's pay to become JoP's. Then, they are paid by the citizens who use there services. Welcome to the real world.
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You are not correct. He was elected, and collected a stipend.
 
Joe1991 said:
He was being paid by taxpayers to provide service to the public.

That means anyone.

If he didn't think he could do that he should have stayed in private practice.
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Exactly !! Glad he resigned.
 
I'm glad he resigned. However, the fact that this couple is suing him since they are NOW married makes me sick. I can understand a lawsuit if they were NOT able to get married, but they are. Drop it. The guy can't do this anymore to other inter-racial couples.
 
hazlnut said:
Louisiana: Justice of the Peace Resigns



The article went on to say that the couple would be suing Mr. Bardwell.

IMO, this is an appropriate response to the incident. It was not his personal belief/opinion that brought about the pressure to resign, it was his personal actions and the clear violation the couples' civil liberties.
Click to expand...
good. and good riddance.
 
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