A white Louisiana justice of the peace may face legal action after he refused to marry a mixed-race couple.
Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, defended his decision and said in his experience, most inter-racial marriages did not last long.
But Beth Humphrey (30), and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, Louisiana, said they would consult the US Justice Department about launching a discrimination complaint.
Ms Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and Mr McKay, a welder, had just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black.
She said she planned to enrol at the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.
"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."
Ms Humphrey said she called Mr Bardwell on October 6th to inquire about getting a marriage licence signed. She said Mr Bardwell's wife told her that Mr Bardwell would not sign marriage licences for mixed-race couples.
Mr Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish, who agreed to marry them.
"We are looking forward to having children," Ms Humphrey said. "And all our friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're typical happy newlyweds."
Mr Bardwell insisted he hadn't mistreated anybody. "I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I wouldn't do it," he said. "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way.
"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."
Mr Bardwell said he asked everyone who called about marriage if they were a mixed-race couple. If they were, he did not marry them, he said. He said he had discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some mixed-race marriages and came to the conclusion that the majority of blacks did not readily accept children from such relationships and neither did white society.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Mr Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
Mr Bardwell estimated that he had refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past two and a half years.
The American Civil Liberties Union has written to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Mr Bardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice".
According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage licence must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce. Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and social security card.
The $22 licence fee must be signed by a Louisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the clerk's office.
AP