2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident

In October 2009, Keith Bardwell, a Robert, Louisiana, Justice of the Peace, refused to officiate the civil wedding of an interracial couple because of his personal views, in spite of a 1967 United States Supreme Court ruling which prohibited restrictions on interracial marriage as unconstitutional.

The story was first publicized by newswriter Don Ellzey of the Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana). Within a day the story was on the front page of the New Orleans Times-Picayune and was circulated by the Associated Press. Bardwell has asserted that he is not a racist and that he did not prevent the couple from obtaining a license from another justice of the peace. His action was widely criticized, and many public officials in Louisiana called for his resignation. He resigned on November 3, 2009.

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