A justice of the peace in Louisiana who has drawn widespread criticism for refusing to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple says he has no regrets about his decision.
"It's kind of hard to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart you haven't done wrong," Keith Bardwell told CNN affiliate WAFB on Saturday.
The couple at the center of the controversy, Terence McKay and Beth Humphrey-McKay, are now married and fighting to get the justice’s license revoked. They spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Monday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
Kiran Chetry: What’s the latest with this justice of the peace who refused to marry you?
Terence McKay: I’m completely still in shock. I’m thankful for the justice of the peace that did marry us.
Beth McKay: I guess he just won't resign, won’t stand down, and he won't apologize. So that's his stance right now.
Chetry: Beth, you were the one that experienced this firsthand, because you spoke to his wife and you were going through the whole rigmarole. You had to say who you were, when you wanted to go there, what your plans were, and then she asked you, “Are you an interracial couple?” How did that happen?
Beth: That's exactly how it happened. At the end of the conversation, she said, “I have a question to ask you. Is this an interracial marriage?” I was shocked, and I said, “Excuse me?” She said, “Is this an interracial marriage?” And I said, “Yes, ma'am.” And she said, “Well, what's the deal? Is he black, are you black?” So I answered her questions and she just said, “Well, we don't do interracial marriages.”
Chetry: The governor of your state, of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, basically says that this guy's license should be revoked. There have been others who have joined that, Senator Landrieu as well, and I'm sure public opinion is certainly on your side. What do you think of the fact that he continues to maintain that he did nothing wrong by what he says is just following his heart?
Official: No regrets in nixing interracial marriage
Terence: Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but he's absolutely wrong on all aspects of his stance. He's saying the only reason he doesn't marry interracial couples is because of the offspring of the marriages. But if it wasn't for interracial couples today, we wouldn't have our president. So for him to take that outlook, that's still like 1800s or something.
Chetry: What's been the reaction from people in the town, who have heard about this situation?
Beth: A lot of people have come up to us and said, “We're in interracial relationships as well,” not just black and white, and just encouraged us to stand up for our rights and speak out against things like this.
Chetry: You've been together for nine months and lived in this area for some time. Have you had any other bad experiences where you felt like people were judging you because you were together and happen to be of different races?
Terence: Not so very obvious. You do have some slight undertones, especially dealing with southern states, but nothing that's been so blatantly obvious as this. But this totally caught us completely off guard. We’re just trying to live our lives.
Chetry: And I know you said you were going to reach out to the U.S. Justice Department. The national Urban League was going to do the same. Has there been any movement legally in terms of getting Mr. Bardwell's license revoked or anything along those lines?
Beth: We've retained an attorney and we're in the process of taking the next steps in order to make sure that he loses his job.