The importance of Loving v. Virginia

With the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to hear oral arguments later this month in Obergefell v. Hodges, which many observers believe will result in a national ruling striking down same sex marriage bans, it is interesting that even a newspaper outlet in Kansas of all places is carrying an op-ed that supports marriage equality and makes the comparison between the issue before the Court and what lead to the ruling in Loving v. Virginia.  It is worth a read - I would venture should be required for every GOP member of Congress - because it looks at bigotry and how claimed religious belief continues to deprive citizens of equal rights.  Here are highlights from the Salina Journal:

With the Supreme Court about to take up the momentous issue of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in Obergefell v. Hodges, it’s noteworthy that 48 years ago, the court heard oral argument in Loving v. Virginia, which produced the court’s most important ruling vindicating the fundamental right to marry. Loving has figured prominently in lower court decisions upholding the right of same-sex couples to marry, and has been relied on in Obergefell by those urging the court to strike down state laws denying that right.

At issue in Loving was the constitutionality of the laws of Virginia and 15 other states that in 1967 still prohibited interracial couples from marrying. Many of those states are among the dozen or so that today deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry and that are unlikely to do otherwise, absent a ruling from the Supreme Court.

Loving arose after Virginia criminally prosecuted Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, for having violated state law by getting married.  They pleaded guilty, and the trial judge gave them the choice of spending a year in jail or being banished from the state for 25 years. Underscoring how Americans’ concept of fairness and equality has expanded over the course of our history, the judge also uttered words that most would view as abhorrent today:

“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”

Sounds familiar doesn't it?  The piece continues:

In Loving, the Supreme Court unanimously held that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional. The ruling had two independent bases in the 14th Amendment: that the laws were racially discriminatory, in violation of the equal-protection clause, and that they denied interracial couples the fundamental right to marry, impermissibly infringing on the liberty interest protected by the due-process clause. As the court explained, “(T)he freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”

On June 12, 2007, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the court’s ruling in their case, Mildred issued a written statement detailing the history of their courageous battle, a statement that she ended with the following:

“Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the ‘wrong kind of person’ for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

“I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all.”

[W]hat a fitting tribute to Mildred and Richard Loving it would be for Obergefell to become this generation’s Loving.

The same religious extremists that condemned the Lovings - I suspect many still  oppose interracial marriage - today inflict the same bigotry and deprivation of civil rights on same sex couples.  The U.S. Supreme Court needs to end it once and for all.