June 12th marks the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark Supreme Court decision that advanced racial equality and the freedom to marry in America.
In 1967, Virginia residents Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, an interracial couple, married in Washington DC. When they returned home, they were arrested for violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act, which prohibited their marriage. The couple challenged the arrest all the way to the US Supreme Court. Writing in a unanimous decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that banning interracial marriages constituted "invidious racial discrimination," thus violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Committed, loving couples whose relationships had previously been treated with legal disregard and societal disrespect were finally able to marry.
Evan Wolfson discusses this landmark case and the celebration to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Loving decision spearheaded by a coalition of organizations led by Freedom to Marry.
Broadcast: 06/04/2007, 4:00 p.m.
Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win and defend marriage equality nationwide. Our podcast features speeches, debates, panels, lectures and discussions with Evan Wolfson on the topic of ending the discrimination in marriage to same-sex couples state-by-state and nationwide.
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ASK EVAN WOLFSON: Why Marriage Matters -- Short Answers for Big Questions
ASK EVAN WOLFSON: Why Marriage Matters -- Short Answers for Big Questions