Loving v. Virginia (1967) was a landmark Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage, declaring them unconstitutional. The case involved Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who were married in Washington, D.C., but were arrested and sentenced to a year in prison when they returned to Virginia, where interracial marriages were prohibited by state law. The Lovings challenged the conviction, arguing that the state’s anti-miscegenation laws violated their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings, declaring that Virginia’s laws banning interracial marriage violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that “the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” The Court’s ruling in Loving v. Virginia not only invalidated laws against interracial marriage but also set a significant precedent for future cases involving marriage equality and individual rights. The decision marked a crucial step forward in the Civil Rights Movement, affirming the principle that laws based on racial discrimination are unconstitutional.