Complaints Mount Against JP Who Refused Marriage License to Interracial Couple

An elected justice of the peace in Hammond, La., has said he will not sign a marriage license for interracial couples out of a concern for the children of such marriages.

The American Civil Liberties Union and a couple who approached the JP for the marriage license plan to pursue complaints against Keith Bardwell, who is white, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

The couple involved in the incident said they plan to consult the U.S. Justice Department about the matter, which occurred Oct. 6.

On Thursday, Bardwell told the Advocate that whenever a couple calls him to do a marriage, he always asks if they are of the same race.

If the answer is no, he refers them to another justice of the peace.

“I’m not a racist,” Bardwell told the Hammond Daily Star. “I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house. My main concern is for the children.”

“It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009,” ACLU lawyer Katie Schwartzman is quoted saying. Schwartzman says the ACLU of Louisiana is preparing a letter to the state supreme court, which oversees the Louisiana Justices of the Peace and Constables Association to have Bardwell investigated and removed from office.

According to the Louisiana Attorney General's Justices of the Peace and Constables materials, JPs are elected to six-year terms as the judicial authority of a ward or district. In addition to the authority to perform marriage ceremonies, they have jurisdiction over civil matters when the disputed amount doesn't exceed $5,000.

To qualify for office, a JP need not be a lawyer, but should be of "good moral character," must meet residency requirements, read and write the English language and possess a high school diploma or GED.

Updated Oct. 17 to add details about the qualifications to serve as a JP in Louisiana.