There was this article that made national news about a justice of the peace who refused to grant a marriage license to a couple because they were interracial. The Associated Press got an interview with this guy and he says things that show his ignorance and thoroughly establish his reasoning as illegal. So here it is, but as usual I am more interested in how problems are handled rather than how they are caused, what do they mean, will the perpetrators be punished, etc.
I called the main office of Tangipahoa Parish government through their website but they said that Justice Bardwell is in the employ of the secretary of state, and thus they could not supervise him. I got the secretary’s office number and in turn said that they cannot censure elected officials, and that I should contact the Office of Special Council. They only sort of have a website, but I got their phone number and called them. They told me that they only accept complaints in writing, so I asked them if that meant that they always give replies in writing. The person said yes, so when they send a reply to this letter that I just sent (PDF), I will post it on this website if it has any substance at all.
Here in Washington State there is a referendum up for vote called Referendum 71. The state legislature recently tried to expand rights associated with marriage to state-registered same-sex domestic partners and some entities pushed for this measure to be measured by vote in a referendum, so here we are. Even still, it is sad to think that there are places in this country that still have elected officials in positions of power that blatantly discriminate against people who do not share their oppressive beliefs. It has been the duty for Justices of the Peace to grant marriage licenses without regard to race since 1967, and here in the news we find that people are still being oppressed.
I hope that when gay marriage becomes accepted that the laws put in place are swift and direct to enforce provision of all rights that couples in a civil union should have. It was strange that in Louisiana, even with this oddball justice behaving strangely and the offices expecting an outcry, they are not equipped for fast action. I wanted to be heard then, and of course my complaint was the same as any other. Why should I have to write? How many people will decline to complain because of the inconvenience of writing? Why must I write on paper? Why do they not have email? Why do they not have a forum on their website so that I can post my complaint with others, and also view the complaints that other people have posted? How is it right that the government gets to mediate its own complaints, with individual citizens not being privy to the complaints that other individuals are reporting? How does government increase its accountability to its constituents?
I do not see it as a problem that occasionally, some crazy population elects some crazy man for some small position, but really, in this age of computers there ought to be a way to streamline the oversight of these things.