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September 2, 2010
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Unjustice of the peace
Published October 21, 2009
I had a column already written when I came into work Tuesday morning. I decided to save it for another day.
I thought about tackling all that is wrong with this whole “balloon boy” incident and how reality TV is degrading society. I even thought about going on my yearly tirade about how here we are in October and Christmas stuff is already out (with no respect for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.) But I will save that for another day.
There has been a story eating away at me for not only how wrong it is but also because it is something that could have easily happened to me.
I am sure most of you are aware of the justice of the peace in Louisiana who has become thrust into the spotlight for not marrying a biracial couple. For those who are not aware, I am white and my wife is Asian. So you can see how this might be taken personal by me and how this is an issue more important than some idiotic parents wanting to get on a reality TV show.
This justice of the peace, who has expressed no regrets for his beliefs, said he does not perform biracial marriages because of his concern for the children. While everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs, however Neolithic they are, the problem here is not only his beliefs but the violation of his something in his job title — justice.
I love my wife. We have our arguments and our laughs, ups and downs, concerns and doubts, much like any other couple. About the only difference I see is the fact we travel every other year to Malaysia so our son can see his grandparents and my wife’s side of the family. Love is blind to racial lines, and I was glad to see this couple found another justice of the peace to marry them.
My wife and I are proud parents of a biracial son we love more than anything else in this world. For this justice of the peace to deny a marriage license because of concern for a mixed child’s future is masking the racism inside. I believe (or did until I read about this) in the good of humanity, where my son will grow up and not be slighted because he is of mixed parentage. My son will be raised with an appreciation and understanding of his heritage, not shame. He will be no different than most of the children around him because he will be taught to respect those who earn his respect.
For a justice of the peace to determine who is fit to be parents based solely on the color of their skin is a smack in the face of the impartiality law officials are supposed to have as they sit in judgment in the name of justice. Not to mention the whole U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1967 of Loving v. Virginia, where in a unanimous decision the justices tossed out race-based limitations on marriages. The precedent-setting ruling included the justification, “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.”
I started to wonder — would this justice of the peace have married my wife and I? Or does he just have problems with mixed marriages of blacks and whites?
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