Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Bardwell, Resigns........

At least four times in the last 2 1/2 years, Keith Bardwell says he refused to marry interracial couples while serving as a Louisiana justice of the peace.

He said from his experience and discussions, he had concluded that blacks and whites do not readily accept offspring of such relationships, so the children end up suffering.

His latest rebuff to a bride and groom of different races turned out to be his last. After weeks of calls for his ouster, Bardwell resigned after 34 years in office Tuesday, leaving his reasons a secret.

An interracial couple have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a justice of the peace who refused to perform their marriage ceremony because they were of different races. The couple eventually were married by another justice of the peace.