Racist or not?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff

Is he a racist or not?

 

Not sure wether to say he's racist or not-it's more of an opinion he is abusing due to his authority.

Let them marry I say-there is always divorce-hell they can still have kids while not married-they just won't be registered.

So what this man is doing is pointless.

 

What, they can't marry just because they have different skins ?
Just allow it, nothing's bad gonna happen.

 

It is racist, and what he did was illegal. Regardless of what reasons he thinks he has that justify his actions.

He's a US State Government employee, not a pastor at a church. He cannot deny a marriage license to a couple because of the color of their skin, which is what he did. He does it to every interracial couple, which I think he said was seven or eight couples total. When couples call him, he asks if they are interracial. That's pretty much the definition of Racism. Denying rights others have to certain individuals due to the color of their skin.

Due to the wide spread media attention of this latest offense, I'm sure he will lose his job as a Justice of the Peace. I can't imagine what hick town he lives in that let him stay in his position for so many years acting this way.


Update:
The Louisiana State Governor is calling for this man to be fired.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/16/louisiana.interracial.marriage/index.html

Of course, it's only done because of the media coverage, but it's a good step. It's sad to think that things like this have gone unnoticed by this state for years now. And had this not garnered the attention this time, this man would have continued to act the way he has.

 

It's racist because of the reasons he has behind it. Just because he doesn't think it's racist doesn't mean it isn't. He denies all interracial couples. He has a problem with interracial marriage, it's racism. Just because he feels he's morally correct doesn't make it any less racist. He has no problem with same-race marriage, but doesn't like interracial.

And it is not within his legal rights to do this. He's an employee of the State. It is illegal to deny Marriage based on race.

If your morality stops you from doing your job, then you should not (and cannot) have that job. He may be physically able, as a human being, to not sign the marriage license, but he is not legally able to. It's no different than any other government official denying any other public service based on the color of the skin of the person or people involved.

Edit:
And just for clarification, he isn't preforming an actual wedding ceremony. The ceremony holds no legal significance, and is just for personal or religious reasons. He's just signing the documentation that says they are legally married. He is refusing to sign the documentation based on the color of the skin of the people involved.

 

I'm not surprised by Loonylion's opinion on this. After all, he supports the BNP which is a racist political party by definition within its constitution itself. See Section 2, Articles 1, 2 & 3 on Membership.

To cite another article:

That's laughable. Denying a marriage license to a couple just because "you don't believe in mixing races that way" is also racism itself.

Also, his quote raises an issue of inflicting his own personal values onto the couple themselves, which he is not allowed to do at all, especially as a state government employee.

I don't think I need to go any more further with this. Mr. Bardwell just did himself in with that quote. And Tirith is absolutely right on this being an issue of racism.

 

Yeah, and so far, nothing has changed regarding Membership requirements. Check the source I cited. It's the current 11th edition on their website.

A marriage license is required to legalize the marriage in the United States. If the marriage isn't legalized, the ceremony is entirely pointless, and that couple won't be recognized as a married couple by the US Government.

 

Loony,

He is not preforming a ceremony, as I already explained. His job is to notarize the legal document that says two people are recognized as married under the US Government. It is not his job to bless a marriage or preform any type of ceremony. He is not a priest, pastor, rabbi, etc. He is a Justice of the Peace.

He just signs a piece of paper, and it is his job to sign that piece of paper. By not signing it, he is failing to do his legal obligation under the law in the US, and therefore should not hold that position. And since he is a Government employee and not a employed by a private organization, anti-discrimination laws apply to EVERYTHING he does as an official in that position.

If he held any other position, like that of a local parish that was asked to preform the ceremony, he would have every right in the world to not do it, for what ever reason he felt. He could say he didn't like her haircut, so he won't perform the ceremony. Sure, he'd be an asshole, but it's his right to be an asshole. The problem is he is a Government employee, no longer a private citizen, and he is supposed to sign a document, and not doing it because of racial reasons is a violation of SCotUS rulings.

 

In the UK, yes, but this incident did not happen in the UK; it happened in the United States of America, particularly in the state of Louisiana.

In the United States, you need a license to wed before performing the ceremony. I already cited a source that explains this.

 

Please read the source I cited Loony. Your question was already answered by the site itself.

So no, nothing gets necessarily signed during the church service, but rather after the service.

And the license gets signed only by the couple prior to the service. This only applies to the United States.

 

It would be no different than if I went into the Secretary of State office today and needed to renew my Driver's License. And the clerk told me, "I'm sorry sir, but since you are white, I morally object to renewing your license. Even though you have filled out all the paper work and meet every requirement to have a Driver's License, I refuse to renew yours." It is not legal. And it is racist. Even though I could go over to the next town and renew there, they have no legal right to deny me here.

By being a State Government Official, they fall under the entity of the "State". And as the article quotes, the SCotUS ruling says "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the state."

 

i would go as far to say if you can't see that this act was blatantly racist then you have to have some sort of prejudice your self!

 

Everyone has their own prejudices, but it is not up to a government official to apply his/her opinions towards his/her duty.