Republican Senator Says Supreme Court Should Have Never Legalized Interracial Marriage
Mike Braun tried to walk back his comments, but his answer to a question about judicial âactivismâ was pretty explicit
Ketanji Brown Jacksonâs Supreme Court confirmation hearings have devolved into a festival of racist dog whistles, so much so that Republican senators who arenât even on the Judiciary Committee are trying to get in on the action.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) went so far as to tell reporters on Tuesday that he doesnât believe interracial marriage should be legal nationwide, before later walking back his comments, claiming he didnât understand the question. The question, however, was pretty explicit.
âYou would be okay with the Supreme Court leaving the issue of interracial marriage to the states?â Braun was asked.
âYes,â he said. âIf you are not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you are not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too.â
The remarks came after
Braun told reporters that he didnât want a justice who was an âactivist,â and that the courtâs decision on
Roe v. Wade was an example of such activism.
Braun argued that such issues should be left up to the states and that striking down Roe would bring âit back to a neutral point, to where that issue should never have been federalized.â This prompted the question about whether he felt the same way about interracial marriage, which the court legalized in 1967, to which Braun, again, said yes.
He tried to walk back the comments. âThere is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form,â he said,
according to NBC News.
Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to sit on the Supreme Court. She introduced her husband, who attended the hearing with one of their daughters, in an emotional moment on Monday. âI have no doubt that without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible,â she said. âWe met in college more than three decades ago, and since then heâs been the best husband, father, and friend I could have ever imagined. Patrick, I love you.â