Loving v virginia interracial marriage

Marriage is an institution created and regulated by the law; as such, the government is able to set certain restrictions on who can get married. But just how far should that ability extend? Is marriage a basic civil right, even though it is not mentioned in the Constitution, or should the government be able to interfere with and regulate it in any manner that it wants? In the case of Loving v.

W hen the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Loving v. In , they had been convicted for the felony of miscegenation. As lawyers presented their arguments , 17 states remained steadfast in their refusal to repeal such laws banning interracial marriages. The justices unanimously agreed. On June 12, , proscriptions against interracial marriage were declared unconstitutional. I am Indian-Rappahannock. I told the people so when they came to arrest me.

Like many other milestones in civil rights legislation, the acceptance of interracial marriage has hardly been a smooth, celebrated or overnight process. Seemingly unfathomable, just 50 years ago it was illegal for blacks and whites to marry in 16 states because of "anti-miscegenation" laws. But the Supreme Court redirected history when it struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage, on June 12, , in Loving v. Mildred and Richard Loving, however, were not the only courageous interracial couple to make headlines that year. Any high-profile wedding comes with a fair amount of attention, but the stares the Smiths endured after their widely publicized nuptials were indicative of a larger issue beyond harmless curiosity.

Loving v. Virginia was a Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the United States. The plaintiffs in the case were Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and Black woman whose marriage was deemed illegal according to Virginia state law. The Loving case was a challenge to centuries of American laws banning miscegenation, i. Restrictions on miscegenation existed as early as the colonial era, and of the 50 U.