Marriage Official Refuses Interracial Couple

A justice of the peace in eastern Louisiana refused to issue a marriage license to a mixed-race couple.

Keith Bardwell, the white elected official in Tangipahoa Parish, said that interracial marriages do not last long, and he was concerned for any children that Beth Humphrey, 30, and Terence McKay, 32, may have together, according to the Associated Press.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," said Bardwell on Thursday, the AP reported. "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 says that black and white society do not easily accept the offspring of mixed-race marriages.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, is white. McKay, a welder, is black. Humphrey said they are considering filing a federal discrimination complaint.