Since When Are Hetero Marriages Under Attack?

"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."

Wow what a "nice" man letting us colored folk use his bathroom and all. Does this sound familiar? Any person part of a marginalized group can certainly relate to hearing this type of attitude.

A Justice of the Peace (oh the irony) in Louisiana refuses to issue marriage licenses for interracial couples. Yeah I had to check my calendar as well - cuz I thought I was stuck in some weird time warp back to 1959. Before the Loving v. Virginia ruling. He claims to be concerned about any future offspring of these couples. Well first of all people don't have to be married to procreate - so before he breaks out into "The Greatest Love Of All" he might want to remember that.

It sounds as if he's only interested in preserving a racial hierarchy. This definitely reminds me of the refusal of officials to sign and issue licenses to LGBT couples in CA during the height of the Prop 8 war. This is why it's so important to fight for justice across the board - not just for topics of particular interest to you as an individual. Remember love is a battlefield to some who'd like to deny consenting adults the right to choose who they love. Some laws are designed to protect us from discriminatory practices. This should serve as a reminder how important the enforcement of those laws are.

It's Loving Day!

Today is the "unofficial" annual celebration of the Loving Family. When this couple wanted to be married the state said no, so they had to sue to get the laws changed. Sounds familiar, huh? As we know there are certain built-in legal protections and tax breaks afforded to those who are married. So as we celebrate Mildred & Richard's love story, let's think about those who are being denied the right to marry. Let's also think about the emotional barriers and mentality blocking many today who are able to marry but don't think it has much value in their lives. Let us do so with all humility and seriousness. 

Mildred Loving was and is representative of many thoughtful Black women whose efforts at reminding others of their humanity comes at a price but ultimately helps many others for years to come.

My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God's plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation's fears and prejudices have given way, and today's young people realize that if someone loves someone, they have a right to marry.