Anyways I just want to thank you for writing this peice. That really was a terrible thing the judge did and I know that if my inter-racial relationship gets to the point where we would like to get married that I wouldn’t want to be denied that right.

I suppose that for all of my cynicism and pessimism, I must actually be an optimist at heart!

I don’t think firing Bardwell would resolve the fundamental problem here (though his work should, perhaps, be monitored by the powers that be to ensure that he’s actually fulfilling the mandate of his position), and that’s what really interests me. We (as a culture) like sensationalism and a sense that a jerk has gotten his comeuppance, but what happens when this story fades into obscurity, as it inevitably will? Bardwell’s fired, but he hasn’t had any transformative moment.

Is he capable of such a moment? I certainly don’t know. But what I do know is that firing him isn’t likely to result in such a moment.

When I was in college, I did a lot of peer education work around LGBT issues. What amazed me again and again was that people who were deeply prejudiced were more disposed to revise their beliefs and opinions once they actually knew someone who was LGBT.

What I’d really like to see is whatever entity that certifies justices of the peace compel Bardwell to sit down with ALL couples before he marries them to evaluate them individually: not based on race, but based on the maturity of their decision to enter into marriage together.

Idealistic? Sure! But it’s better than the alternative.

Megan- I’d love for you to deliver it personally.

@Brian: The couple found another justice to marry them and are currently considering taking the case before the Supreme Court.

Right?! His statement begs the question: Where/what is the evidence that most interracial marriages don’t last? I, for one, would be really interested in seeing it.

You know, as I was writing this article, I did a little bit of research about what the functions of a justice of the peace are. It’s a funny name, right? They essentially perform semi-judicial functions without being judges and (in Louisiana at least) are free, for the most part, to set their own standards of practice in some areas of responsibility. It’s all a bit alarming, to be honest.