Louisiana judge denies marriage license to interracial couple

[Josquius]

Ah, nice. Just when all this shit about homos is taking the limelight out comes a good old fashioned racist. Gotta love a return to the old school.
If it were actually that anyway.

"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."

Some kind of weird gay mormon orgy cult?

[Caliga]

The "they use my bathroom" quip is very odd and suggests that to me that he thinks black people are dirty, e.g. "I love Jews!  I have oodles of Jewish friends and THEY ARE DEFINITELY NOT EVIL GREEDY DEMONS! "

[Martinus]

I don't see how this could be construed as discrimination, but failure to grant gay marriages isn't. After all, white and black people are free to marry anyone they want - as long as they are of the same race. 

[Faeelin]

It's not that you're not allowed to discriminate: you are.  But you can not discriminate based on illegal grounds.

In this instance: you can discriminate because you don't do weddings, or you don't work weekends, or only if you get paid a certain amount.  But discrimination based on certain criteria, like race, would be prohibited.

What if you're religion opposed interacial marriages?

[ulmont]

From surveys I've seen the percentage is 2-4%, depending on how you ask the question (about 2% outright admit in being gay, while another 2% claim to be bisexual or having "experimented" wirh gay sex).

According this this report, an estimate of 5% is closest:

4% reported being "gay, lesbian, or bisexual" in CNN's presidential exit polls in 2008 and 2004 (and 2000, but that link is down now).
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p3
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html

I think this is an interesting lower bound, since it wouldn't catch the severely closeted, and assume the real number is something in the 4-8% range.

[Scipio]

This is a license, though, not performing a marriage.  Of course, this is Napoleonic Code (LA TM) so YMMV.  Fucking Napoleon.

[DontSayBanana]

This is a license, though, not performing a marriage.  Of course, this is Napoleonic Code (LA TM) so YMMV.  Fucking Napoleon.

True, but it's questionable whether as a representative of the court, he had the right to withhold the service.  Once he gave the rationale, all I can think of is that he should have kept his damn mouth shut.

[Admiral Yi]

4% reported being "gay, lesbian, or bisexual" in CNN's presidential exit polls in 2008 and 2004 (and 2000, but that link is down now).
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p3
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html

I think this is an interesting lower bound, since it wouldn't catch the severely closeted, and assume the real number is something in the 4-8% range.

That's assuming gays vote in the same proportion as the general population.  I tend to think they're overrepresented in the voting population.

[Josquius]

I don't see how this could be construed as discrimination, but failure to grant gay marriages isn't. After all, white and black people are free to marry anyone they want - as long as they are of the same race. 

That marriage is a man and a woman is a fundamental law.
That mixing the races is bad is hidden in some retarded part of the bible if it exists (probally does...i'm sure I remember some weird quote)

[ulmont]

That's assuming gays vote in the same proportion as the general population.  I tend to think they're overrepresented in the voting population.

Yes, plus assuming voting gays answer exit polls in the same proportion as the voting population.  I tend to think they are underrepresented in the voting population (supported by Meri's 5% stat), but YMMV.

[DontSayBanana]

That's assuming gays vote in the same proportion as the general population.  I tend to think they're overrepresented in the voting population.

Yes, plus assuming voting gays answer exit polls in the same proportion as the voting population.  I tend to think they are underrepresented in the voting population (supported by Meri's 5% stat), but YMMV.

Agreed.  Also, it seems like there's a lot of pessimism and cynicism still with respect to gays "outing" themselves to the general public, so I'd lean towards underrepresentation as well.

[Admiral Yi]

Yes, plus assuming voting gays answer exit polls in the same proportion as the voting population.  I tend to think they are underrepresented in the voting population (supported by Meri's 5% stat), but YMMV.

You think gays vote less frequently than straights?  Gays are more educated, which correlates with voting, and more politicized, which correlates with voting.

[DontSayBanana]

You think gays vote less frequently than straights?  Gays are more educated, which correlates with voting, and more politicized, which correlates with voting.

More politicized, but that doesn't necessarily indicate more sense of political efficacy.

[Faeelin]

That marriage is a man and a woman is a fundamental law.
That mixing the races is bad is hidden in some retarded part of the bible if it exists (probally does...i'm sure I remember some weird quote)

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

[Faeelin]

I am curious, though. What if your religion did see interracial marriage as sinful?

I'm thinking of that University which banned interracial dating until fairly recently on religious grounds, and was denied federal funding as a consequence.