Newlywed won't tolerate 'overt racism' by Louisiana official - CNN.com: HAMMOND, Louisiana (CNN) -- The woman who was denied a marriage license by a Louisiana justice of the peace because he refused to marry interracial couples said the official should lose his job.
Beth McKay said she never could have expected what she heard from Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell when she called his office a week ago to officiate her marriage to her African-American fiance, Terence.
McKay spoke with Bardwell's wife to make arrangements for the ceremony.
"At the end of the conversation, she said that she had to ask me a question. She asked if this was an interracial marriage." When McKay replied yes, she was told, "Well, we don't do interracial weddings or marriages."
McKay said she was beyond shock. "We are used to the closet racism, but we're not going to tolerate that overt racism from an elected official."
