Yellowrose -

About Louisiana JPs

•Justices of the Peace in Louisiana are elected to serve six-year terms.
•They can perform marriage ceremonies.
•As the judicial authority of a ward or district, they have jurisdiction in civil matters when the amount in dispute does not exceed $5,000.

http://www.jpus.org/aboutjps.htm

yeppers. what I posted was a general. each state has it's own laws etc

did you see the word can not must in their duties?

can not must????? I saw they can...and as elected officials they are to go by the laws

type really slowly because I am not getting it

duties - JOP can perform wedding ceremonies

JOP choses not to, how in the world he is breaking the law

can = having the ability
must = having the obligation


and yes I do what I want

I read it as...either or. they can chose to marry people or chose not to marry anyone. not pick and chose. sort of an all or nothing thing. that's how I read it at least

Fran...I can see your point too. I just really don't know for sure. Maybe a better analogy would be a ship's captain. I believe they can marry people legally but not obligated to....maybe???? dunno??? lol

A ships captain is not an elected official either so like Frans case it doesn't really apply to a JP.

Still in actuality she's wrong on every count even those of private contractors. You do have choices, but if even as a privately owned company someone can prove your refusal was based on discrimination as defined by our laws you'll still be found in the wrong and liable. As an example a hotel can not refuse a room to someone based on their race. If it can be proven they did it for that reason then they can be held liable in a discrimination suit. If Fran were to openly give a reason for refusal to marry someone as this JP did then she too would be liable if that reason fell under the definition of discrimination. She does not have quite the freedom she thinks she does

A ships captain is not an elected official either so like Frans case it doesn't really apply to a JP.

Still in actuality she's wrong on every count even those of private contractors. You do have choices, but if even as a privately owned company someone can prove your refusal was based on discrimination as defined by our laws you'll still be found in the wrong and liable. As an example a hotel can not refuse a room to someone based on their race. If it can be proven they did it for that reason then they can be held liable in a discrimination suit. If Fran were to openly give a reason for refusal to marry someone as this JP did then she too would be liable if that reason fell under the definition of discrimination. She does not have quite the freedom she thinks she does

Sorry Davey, I am not wrong and especially not wrong in every count read my posts I never said I would not perform a ceremony for a particular reason, I just said I had the choice of doing it. Hence your assumption for my reasoning is nil

if it is his religious belief to not marry someone, then he has the legal right to go thrugh his church to be able to perform marriages. BUT by accepting a GOVERNMENT position, he has agreed to waive his personal beliefs in any such manner. Very simply put, and this is a major problem with society, if your religious beliefs prevent you from doing something, say performing marriage rights to a gay couple, then you have no business accepting a job in which you will be expected to perform a marriage ritual to a gay couple if one asks you to. This all falls underneath seperation of church and state. The church has the legal right to refuse to marry someone due to belief. The state (in this case a justice of the peace) does not have that right. So if his religious beliefs conflict with his job as a justice of the peace, then he does nto qualify for that job and should not be in that position (unless of course as I stated before and marriage is a discretionary act, in which case the j.o.p. has to refuse ALL marriage requests nto just those that go against his personal beliefs)

NO NO NO, not allowing someone to not be in a position like that because of their beliefs is just wrong. The thought of having ALL judges or JP's having the exact same beliefs is pretty damn scary to me. Then it is all one sided and that is a very dangerous way to go.

Not something I'd will to go for, never.

Justice of the Peace Will Not Marry Interracial Couples

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.


Insisting he is no racist, a Louisiana Justice of the Peace refused to marry an inter-racial couple, and says this is a matter of principle with him.

He points out that the children of such unions are often rejected by both families.

The bride to be, the Caucasian, is to enter a graduate program in minority studies. To say she is perplexed is an understatement. She plans to file a complaint.

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.

"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."
Article here

Furtherment of racist ideals.

Perpetuation of the ideal for generation and generations.

He should lose his job.

I might agree with him needing to lose his job but not because of what he believes. We cannot legislate the way people think. Only the way they act and his actions may warrant being fired.