On October 6, an interracial couple, Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay, inquired of Bardwell, the justice of the peace for the 8th Ward of Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish, about getting a marriage license signed. His wife Beth Bardwell reportedly told them that the justice "does not do interracial marriages". Justice Bardwell referred the couple to a justice of the peace of a neighboring ward, who performed the wedding. Although the news media frequently alleged that Bardwell had refused to issue a marriage license, he has emphasized that he has no authority to "issue" a marriage license and that he simply "recused" himself from officiating the ceremony. When interviewed, Bardwell said that he had refused applications to four couples over a period of 2½ years before the news of his refusals was publicized.
Bardwell's justification
Bardwell justified his refusal to officiate interracial marriages as based on his concern for the children of such marriages, as he believes they are fully accepted neither by black nor white society. Bardwell said, he "came to the conclusion that most black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society", and, "I don't want to put children in a situation they didn’t bring on themselves. In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." Bardwell asserted that he was not a racist. According to the reporter Tara Bennett, Bardwell was advised by an attorney to say that he was "busy" on days when he was requested to officiate interracial weddings, "but Bardwell refuses to lie and says he will step down" if obliged to change his policy. On October 19, Bardwell appeared on the CBS Early Show, where he was interviewed by Harry Smith. Bardwell apologized to the couple for offending them. He maintained that he did not deny the couple from being married but only recused himself from performing the ceremony. As he referred them to another justice to be married, he did not see a problem.
On the day the story broke, President Barack Obama, the son of an interracial marriage, was at nearby University of New Orleans for a much-heralded "town hall meeting" concerning local recovery from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. When asked about Bardwell's statements, Bill Quigley and White House Deputy Press SecretaryBill Burton said that they had reason to believe a biracial child could do well. A number of state and local public officials criticized Bardwell's actions.Heidi Rogers Kinchen, , Daily Star, 17 October 2009, pp. 1A, 3A. Louisiana's U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter both objected to Bardwell's refusal, Vitter's statement being that judges "should follow the law as written and not make it up as they go along". Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called for Bardwell to be fired: Jindal's office released a statement calling Bardwell's refusal to officiate the civil wedding "a clear violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law" and urged that "isciplinary action should be taken immediately—including the revoking of his license". In response during an interview, Bardwell pointed out that he was an elected official and that it was not a licensed position. The Daily Star editorialized that "Bardwell's personal beliefs are his own, but his responsibility as an elected official is to provide services to the public" and called on him to resign. Front-page articles in the Daily Star reported the disavowal of Bardwell by state, parish, and municipal officials and summarized the worldwide attention to the story. Bardwell, who had another five years in what he had said would be his last term as a justice of the peace, resigned his post on November 3. Bardwell's resignation was a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of StateJay Dardenne. Bardwell offered no explicit explanation and did not immediately respond to requests for elaboration.
Lawsuit
Bardwell continued to face a federal lawsuit, which in 2010 continued with the court's determination of pertinent witnesses. In November, 2010, the lawsuit was dropped by the McKays.
