Top Story: Good 'Ol Boy Justice Of The Peace In Louisiana Refuses To Marry Interracial Couple
Keith Bardwell, Justice of the Peace of Tangipahoa Parish in Southeastern Louisiana, recently refused to marry an interracial couple. His grounds: the effect it would have on their children. Quote via the Huffington Post:
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
Bardwell has been a justice of the peace since 1975, and admits to rejecting other interracial couples' attempts to get married by referring them to someone else that was willing to marry them. One problem: The Supreme Court ruled in 1967 "that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."...part of this thing called Civil Rights legislation that popped up in the mid 60s for this very reason.
Needless to say, people across Louisiana, and across the nation, are pissed. The Governor of Louisiana answered questions concerning Bardwell in a press conference yesterday. This man is an elected official. Last time he was elected, he ran unopposed, and he is scheduled to be in office until 2014. The ACLU is planning on filing a lawsuit. Expect to be hearing about this one for some time to come.
Story #2: High School Lesbian Left Out Of Yearbook For Wearing A Tuxedo
Ceara Sturgis is your typical, over achieving high school senior. She gets straight A's, she's goalie of her soccer team, she's active in the local chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving, and even plays trumpet in the school band. She's also an out and proud lesbian student. According to her mother, she isn't comfortable in "girlie" clothes, never has been.
So when it came time for senior pictures to be taken earlier this summer, Ceara had only one idea that came to mind: a tuxedo. It wasn't considered "cross-dressing" to her. It was being herself, and being comfortable in a picture that would speak for the four years she spent in high school.
Last month, Ceara and her mom were notified that the school
was refusing to print the picture in the yearbook. Once again, enter the champions at the ACLU. Neither the school or the school board have made one comment regarding the story, but this has obviously upset the LGBT community. The location? Mississippi. Why do these things always seem to happen in the South?
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