BLACK TRADITIONAL MARRIAGES ARE UNDER ATTACK ("SHACKING UP")

BLACK TRADITIONAL MARRIAGES ARE UNDER ATTACK:

AMERICA WANTS BLACK PEOPLE TO SHACK UP OR MARRY WHITE PEOPLE.

BLACK CHILDREN NO LONGER HAVE POSITIVE IMAGES OF TRADITIONAL BLACK MARRIAGES.

In 21st century America BLACK Men and BLACK Women are no longer encouraged to LEGALLY Marry each other.

Instead it is becoming less common to see BLACK Men married to BLACK Women or BLACK Women married to BLACK Men.

However it has become increasingly common to see BLACK Men marry WHITE Women or to see BLACK Women marry WHITE Men.

In fact BLACK Men who marry BLACK Women often witness their BLACK Wives being Disrespected by mainstream American society.

The Federal govt also appears to reward BLACK Men and Women who choose to Co-habit (Shack-up) versus creating a LEGAL marriage relationship.

BLACK Traditional marriages are being replaced with SAME-SEX marriages.

As more and more Unemployed BLACK Men are INCARCERATED for not paying CHILD SUPPORT, what LEGACY is the BLACK community leaving for the next generation of BLACK Children as it relates to BLACK Traditional marriage and Strong BLACK Family units?

I am deeply concerned.

~ Black Pastors Denounce NAACP and Gay Marriage Which They Say 'Threaten to Destroy Western Civilization' (CIRCA 2014)

A National Coalition of Black Pastors and Christian Leaders has announced that they are holding a special Press Conference in Detroit, Michigan on September 23, 2014.

The Coalition will reveal a national strategy to combat court decisions overturning state laws protecting traditional marriage in partnership with the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Press Conference shall be held at 10am, in Dearborn Room 1, at the Marriott- Detroit Metro Airport, Romulus, Michigan 48174.

The Council, which has denounced gay marriage as "a threat to end western civilization as we know it," has also condemned the NAACP as a "morally bankrupt institution" that has "sold Black civil rights for gay rights," according to its spokesperson, Minister Stacy Swimp.

In 2012, the NAACP took an official position to endorse "gay marriage," by putting out a press release saying "we support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution."

The NAACP has not recanted their position, in spite of the fact the overwhelming majority of Black Americans oppose gay marriage.

"How is it that the NAACP concludes that the 14th Amendment, which was created to guarantee the citizenship rights of Black Americans, is now meant to give license to a behavior which would devastate an already fractured institution in the Black community, which is the family?" says Pastor Danny Holliday, Founder and Pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Alton, Illinois.

"Every God fearing American has a moral obligation to renounce membership to this once proud organization that has clearly lost its moral compass."

The NAACP and other advocates of redefining marriage say that lesbians and homosexuals are "born gay" and should not be discriminated against because of how they were born.

The Coalition of Black Pastors and Christian leaders disagree.

"No one is created homosexual and forever condemned to being so.

That argument, in defense of gay marriage cannot be substantiated. I am living proof." says Evangelist Janet Boynes, a former lesbian who is one of the leaders of the Coalition.

"Therefore, to redefine marriage and, essentially, render the concept of family without true meaning, would be an action against the will of God and the best interest of nation, family, and person who has been deceived into thinking he or she is without hope of walking away from homosexuality."

The Coalition, represented by the Thomas More Law Center, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has filed several briefs on behalf of the Coalition in the Circuit Court of Appeals and in the US Supreme Court.

"We pray that Federal judges shall uphold the rule of law and dismiss the wrongful assertion which says that so called gay marriage has association with the 14th Amendment, which was passed to guarantee the citizenship rights of Black Americans," says Pastor Emery Moss, Strictly Biblical, Detroit, Michigan.

"Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it indicate that equal justice under the law is related to gay marriage," says Bishop Samuel Smith, of the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship.

"Marriage, furthermore, was defined by God. Not by government. Government has no right to redefine marriage and destroy the meaning of family."

Bishop Smith concludes, "The Constitution provides us our civil, political, and religious freedom, in accordance with our God given rights.

The courts of the United States have a duty to the American people to uphold these God given rights and the Constitution."

Sources: Gospel Herald, The Root, Allen West, Youtube

Media's Hypocrisy Of The Tiger Woods Scandal...A Racist Media

Recent coverage of the Sex, Drugs and Tiger Woods "Fall from Grace" saga. Yes the Media world can be Biased and Racist.

If Elin were Black would his extramarital affairs and sex scandals still be BIG news?? I don't think so.

Am I opposed to Interracial Dating or Interracial Marriages? No, of course not.

However if Elin were a Black woman Tiger cheated on, the media coverage would NOT have been as extensive.

Real Talk!


<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=7b9952a1-ac47-4510-b20a-21b13a2f15a6&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="On the Mark: Tiger troubles">Video: On the Mark: Tiger troubles</a>




Here's the truth behind the Tiger Woods scandal


There's more money and less intellectual effort in judging, vilifying and diminishing Tiger Woods than in providing the public a lens to understand him and a sports world/culture that long ago was perverted by television's money and fame.

It takes no courage or thought to recognize Tiger's personal failure. He, as far as we know, shamed his wife and family. We can assume Tiger's Swedish wife adopted our American marriage value of strict monogamy, and she is mortified and shocked that her ridiculously famous, handsome, billionaire husband gave in to the temptation of road beef.

Yes, assumption is the platform from which all insightful ideas, opinions and perspective are based.

Armed with the supposition that this brown-skinned golfer has irreversibly harmed an attractive, blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman, much of the sports media have turned Elin Nordegren into Natalee Holloway and reached for ratings and relevancy by traveling the route paved by Nancy Grace.

There is, believe it or not, another direction to explore. There is another reality we can reluctantly accept. If we choose, we, the media, can do our job and put Tiger's transgressions in their proper context and explain to the public what happened to the perceived traditional ideals of the sports world.

The high-character values and morality we've ascribed to the male and female athletes who entertain us were a myth in the 20th century and a flat-out impossibility now.

When television took control of sports 40 years ago, athletes became America's first reality TV stars and no different from daytime soap opera stars.

When television's money and spotlight began turning 20-year-old athletes into instant millionaires, celebrities and brands, the Jordans, Peyton Mannings, LeBron James, Roger Clemens, Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps of the world became no different from Jon Bon Jovi, Mick Jagger, George Clooney, LL Cool J, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Redford.

How many women do you think Jagger bedded in his prime? His wealth, fame and looks pale in comparison to Tiger's. When Phelps returned from the Olympics, he hit a bong and the strip clubs, bedding strippers, according to gossip magazine testimony, two and three at a time. You think when Phelps finds the love of his life, he'll dial it back and satisfy himself with vanilla sex when his wife decides to give it to him?

That's right. Men who grow up eating at five-star steakhouses often happily learn to love Hamburger Helper five nights a week.

We're outraged and stunned that Tiger has had a dozen alleged affairs. The typical rock or movie star is laughing and/or questioning Tiger's sexuality if the golfer limited himself to a number below 50 since marriage and 500 in his post-puberty lifetime.

The notion that golf, with its history of unapologetic racism and sexism, is somehow filled with men of impeccable integrity is a hysterical lie propagandized by hypocritical white men willing to commit the same crime they charge Tiger and his sponsors pulled off: the upholding of a patently false image.

"You play golf to drink with your boys, smoke cigars and talk about (sex)," former NBA player John Salley told me Wednesday. "And now we're surprised that a golfer was having sex. We think Tiger is the only one. Why are we treating Tiger like he's elected to public office? He plays golf, man."

This column is not meant to excuse Tiger's irresponsible behavior. The column isn't a contradiction of what I wrote when Steve McNair was killed. People have e-mailed me asking what justifies the difference in tone and content of the columns I've written about Woods and McNair.

Murder and suicide. The accusation that McNair maintained a separate home from his wife and kids. And the fact that McNair, for months, manipulated and preyed upon a 19-year-old child who lost her parents, fled a country, moved away from her adopted family at 16, drove while impaired in all likelihood to protect McNair and was incapable of financially supporting herself.

Iceberg Slim showed more compassion for his hos than McNair did to the obviously emotionally and mentally wounded girl who allegedly killed herself and McNair.

Sorry for the digression.

Despite Tiger's web site statement apologizing for "transgressions" that let his family down, I don't know — and neither do you — Tiger and Elin's sexual values.

They would not be America's first adult couple (let alone celebrity couple) to agree that extracurricular sex is acceptable as long it remains non-embarrassing for the other spouse. Since we've legalized assumption, I've chosen to assume Elin's hijacking of Tiger's cell phone and threats to call Jaime Gruber were provoked by the National Enquirer or some gossip magazine contacting Tiger, Elin or one of her friends for comment on an upcoming expose about Rachel Uchitel or one of Tiger's bim-hos.

For all we know, his "transgressions" might be the overall sloppiness of his affairs.

Rather than bloviate and hypocritically posture in a column or on TV/radio about non-criminal sex between consenting adults, wouldn't it be wise to examine what Tiger's perceived failure signifies beyond his humanity?

Is the public really served by Rick Reilly sitting on SportsCenter advising Tiger to appear on Oprah, skip the Masters and U.S. Open, prove to Elin and his fans that his marriage is more important than golf, fire his caddy, IMG and anyone Elin doesn't trust, refuse to take money from his sponsors and grant the media in-home interviews?

Is the public really served by Herm Edwards, a defrocked football preacher, sitting on SportsCenter criticizing Tiger's inner circle for failing to properly advise him to avoid extramarital sex?

The naivete of the commentary about Tiger is astounding. I'm a grown man with a weight problem. Does Herm believe none of my friends has said: "Yo, dog, why you gotta get extra cheese and bacon on that Wendy's triple?" Does Herm believe the families of drug abusers cheer on every snort of coke?

Tiger is a grown-ass man with a billion dollars. It's hard to advise a laid-off factory worker. It's more likely that Tiger ignored his inner circle than his inner circle failed to flash warning signs.

Herm — like Reilly, TMZ, US Weekly — is simply feasting on Tiger like a vulture, picking at Tiger's carcass in an attempt to rehabilitate himself. Herm and his agent recognized that commenting on Woods gave Herm a shot at passing himself off as the life/morality-coach alternative to Tony Dungy. Herm was auditioning for the job to "help" Tiger or be Notre Dame's next coach. You think Herm will muster the courage to get preachy on television and offer personal advice to the football coaches and players he knows for a fact are living the same "misguided" life as Tiger Woods?

Reilly's advice was so asinine, contradictory and hey-look-at-me-and-not-Bill Simmons self-serving that it's really unworthy of rebuke. Let me summarize it: "Hey, Tiger, prove you're not fake by doing a bunch of fake (spit) that doesn't fit your personality and invite me over to write about it."

ESPN killed sports journalism. It hired, overpaid and showered our best and brightest with fame, turning many of them into jig-dancing clowns unprepared to insightfully examine the sports world they allegedly cover.

When Ralph Wiley prematurely died, we lost our Hunter S. Thompson, the man who famously chronicled Rock & Roll culture from the inside without passing judgment.

Somehow we think our job is to uphold the myths, protect the squeaky image of the games and trash the competitors whose failings (steroids) show the public what the games truly are (a staged performance for profit).

Let's act like golfers, like the majority of wealthy men, don't know the Rachel Uchitels of the world, don't frequent Las Vegas nightclubs where a pool cabana or table bottle service guarantee a parade of drunken Barbie Dolls looking for Mr. Right Now.

A heterosexual male celebrity athlete/entertainer who likes to socialize faces tremendous pressure from longtime friends and corporate friends to entertain. If the boys are hitting a club, South Beach or Las Vegas, it's Tiger's job to attract the women. This is far more important than Tiger picking up the tab or securing a lady for himself.

"Hook ya boy up!" is the rallying cry of a single man and many men given a weekend pass by their wife or girlfriend.

"I'm happily married and I still go through it now," NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez shared with me Wednesday. "Right or wrong, it's an expectation that guys have, whether it's your teammates or the friends you've had all your life. They want you to go out because they think, 'Man, you know Tony is going to have some girls around.' I've dealt with that pressure and still do to some degree."

This is why I believe some of the un-closeted bim-hos are lying or have been misidentified by the gossip rags. They're throwing women out there and fame-hungry women are volunteering because they know you don't understand the culture. A moderately attractive woman can easily move in a famous man's circle without ever getting close to her target.

That is not written to suggest Tiger is not a womanizer. It's written to provide context. Tiger operates in a cesspool. He's never portrayed himself as a religious holy roller. His values appear, like most, sexular.

There's no reason for surprise about any of this, particularly his choice of conquests.

As far as I know, Tiger grew up on golf courses in suburban Orange County, raised by an African-American, Chinese and Native American father and Thai, Chinese and Dutch mother. That is not the recipe for falling in love with sistas regardless of Tiger's brown skin and full lips.

By profession and diction, the dude would be considered a nerd by most brothers and sisters. Take away his billion dollars and many of the sisters whining that Tiger prefers blondes would continue their search for a tatted-up, corn-rowed, slang-talking real brother.

(If that description doesn't fit you, then don't complain. Destiny's Child sang and sold "Soldier" because somebody was feeling it.)

Tiger's choice in women isn't a statement about how he feels about us (black folks). It's a statement about where and how he grew up.

The reaction to Tiger's preference exposes America's deep-seated racial hang-ups. Black and white people are equally troubled by Tiger's parade of Caucasian conquests. This unrest is fueling much of the media manipulation of and wallowing in this story.

"If Elin was black, this would be a Left Eye-Andre Rison situation and everyone would move on," John Salley cracked.

When I talked with sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards, he addressed the racial dynamic more seriously.

"If Elin were black, this would be on the scale of Mike Tyson and Robin Givens," Dr. Edwards explained. "It would've lasted a while and then it would just go away."

That may sound preposterous to some, but it's not. The media and the public overreact to whatever crimes/unfairness befall an attractive white woman (Natalee Holloway). Jordan, Ali and Magic all managed to play on their black wives without receiving much criticism. Shaquille O'Neal just finished off the remaining credible pieces of his marriage to a black woman by allegedly having an ongoing affair with Gilbert Arenas' fiancee. No one cares. But this brown-skinned golfer is facing ruin because he cheated on his white wife.

"You're getting reverberations of O.J.," Dr. Edwards said. "White America, corporate America feels betrayed. Tiger was accepted and given all the perks and benefits and now they feel betrayed, the same betrayal they felt with O.J. There are some (black) celebrities that get to dip their biscuit in the gravy of corporate America and then there are some that are given their own bowl of gravy. Tiger had rare access. His sponsors choreographed a superhuman image to promote a sport and sell product. They gave him everything except the latitude to exercise his humanity. There are no super humans down here. There's only us, and sometimes we blow it."

The media cries for Woods to publicly handle his private life sound crazy to Dr. Edwards, too.

"My advice to him would be to take off with his family to some remote island for three months or however long it took to get something worked out," Edwards said. "When I came back, I'd go straight to the golf course. When I was asked about my personal problems, I'd say: 'I messed up. I'm still trying to get that right. Let's talk about golf.' If the questions persisted, I'd apologize, put the microphone down and walk away. Anything he has to say should be shared only with his family.

"He shouldn't worry about bouncing all the way back (as an endorsement force)," Edwards continued. "The one thing we know is that when a ball drops from 15 feet when it bounces back up, it's only going to rise to 12 feet."



View Larger Map


Sources: MSN, Fox Sports, The Daily Beast, Google Maps

Tiger Woods vs Rush Limbaugh: Interracial Dating

NOTE:

I am in no way offended by Tiger Woods' preference of White Women.

I also have nothing personal against Interracial Dating or Interracial Marriages.
In fact I couldn't care less.

If a Black Woman chooses to date a White guy and he makes her happy, fine.

By the same token if a Black Man chooses to date a White woman and she makes him happy, that's cool too.

So everyone out there angry at Tiger for his "Jungle Fever", stop hating!




Rush Limbaugh on Tiger Woods affair scandal: 'Choice of females' hurting the "Black frame of mind"


If you believe Rush Limbaugh, African-Americans are suffering from a collective malaise brought on by anger at President Obama's economic policies -- and the white women of the Tiger Woods scandal.

On Tuesday's edition of "The Rush Limbaugh Show," the right-wing radio firebrand sounded off on "the black frame of mind" and the disappointment he claims the African-American community feels toward the Obama presidency.

"The black frame of mind is terrible. They're depressed. They're down -- Obama's not doing anything for 'em. How is that hoax and change workin' for ya? They're all livid," Limbaugh said.

Blacks are "upset" and "feel abandoned" by Obama and, he added, "I'm sure Tiger Woods' choice of females [is] not helping 'em out with their attitudes there, either."

Audio was posted on the Web site of Media Matters.

That the women involved in the Tiger Woods affair allegations are all white has been widely discussed in the black community -- and Woods' already-shaky standing among many African-Americans has taken a bludgeoning.

Last week, Woods was repeatedly a punch line on radio host Tom Joyner's nationally syndicated program

"Thankfully, Tiger, you didn't marry a black woman. Because if a sister caught you running around with a bunch of white hoochie-mamas," a parody song played on Joyner's show suggested, Woods would have been castrated.

The song went on, "The question everyone in America wants to ask you is, how many white women does one brother waaant?"

Limbaugh is no stranger to the intersection of race, sport and scandal.

The cigar-chomping shock jock earned nation-wide notoriety for his remark on an NFL pregame show that African-American Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb generated favorable press coverage because of his race -- not his talent on the gridiron.

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well," Limbaugh said. "There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve."

Outcry over his comments prompted his resignation from the ESPN show "Sunday NFL Countdown."

Earlier this year, his reputation for spewing racial invective scuttled his attempt to become a co-owner of the St. Louis Rams.

He was dropped from a group making a bid for the team after black NFL players pointed to his track record of racially provocative commentary.

The investor group called him a "complication and a distraction."

Limbaugh fired back that he was a victim of "Obama's America" and "race hustlers."

"So Obama's America is quite possibly going to include the National Football League, and pressure from Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus and other places might be brought to bear on the owners," he said.




Tiger's Thing for White Girls

Tiger Woods has gone and disfigured his perfect image by cheating on his beautiful, white wife with another beautiful white woman. As a young black woman myself, who also prides herself on being a card-carrying feminist, I suppose I should be outraged by his infidelity on many levels—naturally, the most “important” being that yet another black man has abandoned the race and succumbed to the wanton ways of those dirty white women who lurk in the shadows trying to steal our men.

The second reason I suppose I should take a stand against Tiger and include myself in the media frenzy that has set out to dismember his already-struggling marriage is that he had the audacity to destroy his picturesque family unit in the first place. I mean, his two beautiful children now have many a glossy tabloid to prove that, alas, their father might be a god to the game of golf, but between the sheets he’s nothing more than a man.

But the truth is that I just don’t care.

Consider the reported roster of women, if you will: Cori Rist, a 31-year-old he met in a nightclub to whom he allegedly devoted a cool six months of extramarital sex. Porn star Holly Sampson, whose work includes Descent Into Bondage and Diary of a Horny Housewife. And of course, Jaimee Grubbs, the 24-year-old shot girl who took her story directly to Us Weekly, most likely making a considerable amount of cold hard cash for her “honesty.”

Yes, they are all white. But then, Tiger himself declared that he was, “Cablinasian,” and not in fact African American in the first place, so the fact that he would clutter his little black book with blondes is hardly news. Not to mention that these women also all hold jobs that demand a particular amount of sex appeal—the more they flirt, the better they get paid. What was Tiger going to do? Moderate a debate between his wedding ring and his penis over his moral obligation to his wife, all while getting lap dances from a young, free-spirited barmaid or even greater pleasures from a woman who played a Horny Housewife? I think not. I’m not saying it’s right; I’m just not saying I’m surprised.

The controversy over black men lusting after white women has been woven into racial discourse (and spurred rant after rant) since before slavery was abolished in 1865, thus forcing the modern debate around this otherwise harmless reality into deeply sensitive and shameful territory. After all, it was only 1955 when Emmett Till was murdered for whistling at a white woman. This conversation about black men and white women is still a sore subject. All the more reason to have it.

I asked Rolake Bamgbose, an off-air reporter for ABC News who happens to be a stunning Nigerian woman, what she thinks. “Some men want things the way they want it, and for some reason think that black women strive for too much control, are too confrontational or ‘aggressive,’" she says. "But I look at my ladies of all shades of black around me and I don't see that. So then I'm led to think those men have fallen subject to their own interpretations of exaggerated stereotypes of black women that always have been and continue to be perpetuated in movies, television, and advertisements... Once I've gone there I have to let it go and think it’s them that have the problem, and for them, I feel sorry.”

For others, like Aixa Weekes, fashion editor for Giant magazine (who happens to be another black beauty herself), the root of black male desire for white women betrays shades of trophyism. “I think the root of this nature dates back to slavery. We as blacks, then Africans were stripped away from our homeland... physically, emotionally and psychologically abused, left scarred.

And even after centuries of progression we are to believe that being light is better, having coarse hair is a curse, and ending up with a white woman may be a prize.” Does that make Tiger’s apparent predilection for white women wrong? “I don't feel there is anything wrong with black men dating white women, but when a black man makes that his preference, it becomes an issue.”

I tend to agree with various points made by both women, particularly that black women get a bad rap for being “aggressive” when in fact, most opinionated women of any race are unfairly considered rude. I also think much of the psychology behind black male lust for white women is based in our complicated history. Like Jim Crow taught us all, black folks were meant to mingle with their own while white folks were told to do the same, right?

Wrong. We do not live “separate but equal” anymore, and as dedicated as I am to informing the world that black history is actually American history, I will not use Emmett Till’s death against a modern black man who finds love with a white woman. Compatibility is hard enough to come by without tossing racial exclusivity into the mix.

I consider myself a modern feminist—a woman who accepts (and critiques) the world in all its tainted glory. I did not think Janet Jackson should have apologized for showing her nipple during the Super Bowl, whether it was a mistake or not. And I will not say that I won’t root for Tiger when he’s back on the golf course and another man is making headlines for cheating on his beautiful wife—black or white.

Of course Tiger could have done the “right thing” and kept his distance from the after-hours parties, bought Sampson’s DVD instead of bedding the “real deal,” and read the Bible each night before bed—in other words, he could have indulged the fantasy the world had about what he does when he hangs up his clubs. But he didn’t. He went out, met a few girls, and got caught. Textbook prophesy for a young, attractive athlete. At least he didn’t beat his wife like Mike Tyson did.

We live in a complicated world, driven by human desire. The only people who need to wag their finger in Tiger’s face live in his own home. The rest of us simply need to tuck the tabloids back on the shelf and focus on our own lives. You never know, his lovely wife could have cheated first. After all, blondes have more fun.



View Larger Map


Sources: The Daily Beast, NY Daily News, Google Maps

Louisiana Judge Who Refused To Marry Interracial Couple Resigns...He Should Have

LA Judge who denied interracial marriage under fire. The governor of Louisiana has joined others calling for the ouster of a judge who denied the marriage license of an interracial couple. Msnbc's Alex Witt talks with defense attorney Karen DeSoto about the case.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

White LA Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell will only perform ceremonies for same race couples.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

La. official quits after interracial marriage flap


A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday.

Keith Bardwell, who is white, quit the post with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Gov. Bobby Jindal called Bardwell's resignation "long overdue."

Bardwell, who is white, refused to marry Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay.

Bardwell refused to perform the ceremony for Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay because they are of different races.

When questioned about his refusal, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely recuses himself from marrying interracial couples because he believes such marriages cause harm to the couples' children. In interviews, he said he refers such couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.

Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office to ask about the ceremony on Oct. 6, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."

Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his ouster from several public officials, including Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

"This was the right decision by Mr. Bardwell. What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," Jindal said in a statement released by his office.

Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell. The couple did not immediately return a call for comment.

Bardwell was elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.



View Larger Map

Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps