INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana senator is stepping back from comments he made Tuesday about interracial marriage.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., was taking part in a video conference with reporters when he argued that decisions on abortion should be made at the state level, not in the Supreme Court.
A reporter then asked Braun if the same should be held for other Supreme Court cases, such as Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage in 1967.
"When it comes to issues, you can't have it both ways," Braun replied. "When you want that diversity to shine within our federal system there are gonna be rules and proceedings that are out of sync with what other states would do. that's the beauty of the system. That's where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves.
"I'm not saying that rule should apply in general depending on the topic, but it should mostly be in general because it's hard to have it just on topics you're interested in when you deny it to others with a different point of view."
The reporter followed Braun's response by asking the senator if he "would be OK with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states."
"Yes. I think that that's something that, if you're not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you're not gonna be able to have your cake and eat it too. I think that's hypocritical," Braun replied.
After the interview, Braun walked back his comments, saying he misunderstood the question.
“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," Braun said in a statement.