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A Republican senator says the US Supreme Court made a mistake by legalizing interracial marriage in 1967. Instead, Sen. Mike Braun thinks the decision should have been left up to states to make, he told reporters on a press call Tuesday (March 22).
In Braun's opinion, individual states, not the Supreme Court, should have the final say on decisions like abortion rights.
When asked if the same thought should be applied to other high court decisions like interracial marriage, Braun said: "When it comes to issues, you can't have it both ways. When you want that diversity to shine within our federal system, there are going to be rules and proceedings, they're going to be out of sync with maybe what other states would do. It's the beauty of the system, and that's where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves."
Braun doubled down on his thoughts after being asked again. "Yes, I think that is something that if you're not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you're not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too, it's hypocritical."
The 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision ruled that laws that banned interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. It wasn't until 2000, that Alabama became the last state in the US to overturn its ban on interracial marriage.
The Indiana lawmaker said that states should "manifest their points of view, rather than homogenizing it across the country as Roe v. Wade did." He later issued a statement that said he condemned "racism in any form" adding that there was "no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race."
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