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CU Sound Off
Refusing interracial marriages
4:00 am Oct 29 - by Tolu Taiwo – buzz Writer
One of the many duties given to a judge, among keeping America in line with the law, is to perform the service of matrimony. As long as the union is between a man and a woman of the United States — at least in most states — anyone can get married. However, Keith Bardwell, Louisiana State Justice of the Peace, refused to marry an interracial couple on Oct. 15. This is not the first time Bardwell has denied a mixed-race marriage; Bardwell claims that “most interracial marriages don’t last long” and he doesn’t marry such couples because of “concern ... for the children.” Is it Bardwell’s personal right to act this way, or does it violate the right of all the interracial couples who want to get married?
“His job is to be a judge and perform his duties. He shouldn’t be able to discriminate. ... I thought that was ridiculous because it’s a man and a woman. It shouldn’t depend on race. He can’t make that call because it’s their decision and interracial couples have just as much chances of making it as same-race marriages.”-Kim Klein, freshman in Business
“I don’t think he has the right to not marry people. I think people should be allowed to marry whoever they want. It doesn’t matter what color, gender, whatever. It’s his job to marry people, not decide who’s in love. And if they’re in love, they should be allowed to be with who they want to be.”-Becky Stron, freshman in Education
“Well, I would say it’s kind of both. He has his right to his opinion, but it’s still okay for people of interracial [couples] to get married. I think it’s wrong that he did that, but he had his right. I think we should have been past this topic by now, but some people still have a problem with different races getting married; that’s just the way some people are these days.”-Francisco Villalobos, sophomore in DGS
“I guess from a legal standpoint he doesn’t really have a right to refuse the union. But I think from a personal standpoint, I guess he does if he really wants to. I feel like judges aren’t necessarily required by law to marry anybody that asks them, and I guess if he feels personally that strongly about the ethical wrongness of interracial marriage, then I think he has the right to refuse. But I definitely don’t think that his refusal should impact the couples’ right to get married. ... So I guess I would say that it’s unfortunate that he would refuse such a thing, but I do think that it’s his personal right.”-Jonathan Popyjoy, sophomore in Philosophy
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