INDIANAPOLIS — In a media call on Tuesday, U.S Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind) said that the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to legalize interracial marriage in a ruling that stretches back to Loving v. Virginia in 1967.
According to Braun, the decision should not have been made by the country’s highest court and instead been left to individual states. Even though some states had made interracial marriage illegal prior to the Supreme Court ruling.
On Tuesday evening, Braun sent out a statement saying he had “misunderstood a line of questioning that ended up being about interracial marriage” and condemned “racism in any form” saying there was “no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race.”
Five hours earlier, however, during the press call, Braun had been explaining how he felt Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortions, should never have been a federal decision and been left to states to decide.
A reporter then asked Braun if he applied the same reasoning to decisions like Loving v. Virginia, which struck down state laws that made interracial marriages illegal.
Braun responded: “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.”
The reporter asked again, reiterating the question and asking if Braun would be okay with Supreme Court leaving interracial marriage to the states.
Braun doubled down, saying “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.”
“We’re better off having states manifest their points of view, rather than homogenizing it across the country as Roe v. Wade did,” he added.
The Indiana Democratic Party released a statement condemning Braun’s statements, calling his rhetoric “an endorsement of the same dangerous white nationalist views that led to the insurrection against the United States of America on Jan. 6, 2021.”
“Mike Braun’s words and views are not only un-American, but beneath any respectable person wishing to hold public office. The United States Supreme Court has affirmed many times that marriage equality in our country extends to any committed couple regardless of sex, race, orientation, or religious affiliation, and to question that legitimacy questions the very fabric of America and its people.
When Indiana Democrats say the Indiana Republican Party’s culture wars are diminishing our nation’s future, this is exactly what we mean. Democrats implore all Hoosiers to ask themselves if they want to be associated with someone as embarrassing as Mike Braun and a form of partisanship that endorses white nationalist views — because these are the same views that led to the insurrection against our nation on January 6, 2021. If Mike Braun wants to question the legitimacy of anything, it should be his own standing as a United States Senator. He cheated his way into office and consistently shows that he does not represent us.”
Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Pary
Braun is no stranger for advocating for state rights, having previously opposed President Biden’s vaccine mandate. Braun full statement backtracking from his comments during the press call is listed in its entirety below:
“Earlier during a virtual press conference I misunderstood a line of questioning that ended up being about interracial marriage, let me be clear on that issue – there 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, at all levels and by any states, entities, or individuals.”
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)
