An Indiana senator has come under fire after telling reporters that the ‘s 1967 ruling striking down laws banning interracial marriage was wrong and the decision should be left to the states.  

Senator Mike Braun, 67, made the controversial remarks during a media call on Tuesday.

Braun was asked if he was okay with the Supreme Court hypothetically overturning landmark rulings such as Loving vs. – which found that laws banning interracial marriage violated the 14th amendment.

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘If 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.It’s hypocritical,’ Braun answered. 

When pressed by the reporter again, and asked if he felt the same way about Griswold vs. Connecticut, a 1956 SCOTUS ruling that allowed married couples to use contraceptives, he reiterated his prior answer. 

Braun said: ‘You can list a whole host of issues, when it comes down to wherever they are, I am going to say they are not going to all make you happy within a give state. 

‘But they’re better off having states manifest their point of view rather than homogenizing it across the country as Roe vs.Wade did.’

‘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, that are going to be out of sync with maybe what other states would do. 

‘That’s the beauty of the system. And that’s where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves.And I’m not saying that rule would apply in general, depending on the topic, but it should mostly be in general, because it’s hard to have it on issues that you are just are interested in when you deny it for others with a different point of view.’

Braun faced a furious backlash over the comments from many who branded him racist.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl warned the statement was an  endorsement of ‘dangerous white nationalist views.’

‘Mike Braun’s words and views are not only un-American, but beneath any respectable person wishing to hold public office,’ Schmuhl said.

‘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.’

His comments sparked outrage in social media, with users questioning why he was asked at all to weigh on the subject of interracial marriage.

‘Did I just get dropped into the year 1850?When did the legitimacy of interracial marriages become a right wing talking point?’ user Alan Winnikoff tweeted. 

‘So not only are they coming for same sex marriage but interracial marriage too? So who do birracial get to marry? Or are they going to ask permission based on the state they live in?’ another outraged user wrote. 

Braun unsuccessfully attempted to distance himself from his questionable stance just hours after the conference call, despite restating several times throughout the interview that he believed fundamental rights issues such as interracial marriage and abortion should be left to the states. 

‘Earlier during a virtual press conference I misunderstood a line of questioning that ended up being about interracial marriage, let me be clear on