The Lovings' Law: Breaking Interracial Marriage Laws

In 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of mixed African American and Native American ancestry, travelled from Virginia to Washington, D.C., to be married. At the time, 31 US states had anti-miscegenation laws, including Virginia, where interracial marriage was a felony that could result in one to five years of imprisonment. The Lovings were arrested in July 1958 and pleaded guilty in January 1959, receiving a one-year prison sentence. However, they successfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1967 that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. This landmark decision, known as Loving v. Virginia, struck down anti-miscegenation laws across the United States.

The Lovings were charged under two sections of the Virginia Code

Section 20-58 of the Virginia Code prohibited interracial couples from marrying out of state and then returning to Virginia. The Lovings had married in Washington, D.C., where interracial marriage was legal, and returned to their home state of Virginia. Section 20-59 classified miscegenation as a felony, punishable by a prison sentence of between one and five years.

On January 6, 1959, Richard and Mildred Loving pleaded guilty to "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth". They were sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return together for at least 25 years.

The Lovings, with the help of lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), sought to vacate their conviction, arguing that the Virginia statute violated the 14th Amendment's guarantees of Equal Protection and Due Process. They contended that anti-miscegenation laws were "not health and welfare laws" but "slavery laws," "rooted in racism and white supremacy."

The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which, on June 12, 1967, ruled unanimously in favour of the Lovings. The Court's decision struck down Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws and invalidated similar laws in 15 other states. The Court held that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The couple were sentenced to a year in prison

On January 6, 1959, Richard and Mildred Loving pleaded guilty to "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth". The couple were sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return together for at least 25 years.

The Lovings were charged under two sections of the Virginia Code: Section 20-58, which prohibited interracial couples from being married out of state and then returning to Virginia, and Section 20-59, which classified miscegenation as a felony, punishable by a prison sentence of between one and five years.

The Lovings' sentence was handed down by Caroline County circuit court judge Leon M. Bazile, who justified it by stating:

> 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.

The Lovings were told that their marriage certificate was not valid in Virginia and, after their conviction, they moved to the District of Columbia. However, they continued to challenge the law, and their case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in their favour in June 1967, striking down Virginia's anti-miscegenation law and effectively ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

The Lovings' conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court

In 1959, Richard and Mildred Loving were convicted of violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalised marriage between people classified as "white" and "coloured". The Lovings were sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return for 25 years. However, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned their conviction in a unanimous ruling.

The Lovings' case, Loving v. Virginia, was a landmark civil rights decision that ruled laws banning interracial marriage violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court's decision ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

The Lovings' conviction was overturned for several reasons. Firstly, the Court rejected Virginia's argument that its law did not violate the Equal Protection Clause because it "equally burdened" both whites and non-whites. The Court found that the law was based solely on "distinctions drawn according to race" and outlawed conduct that was otherwise generally accepted.

Secondly, the Court held that the freedom to marry is a fundamental constitutional right and that depriving Americans of this right on an arbitrary basis, such as race, was unconstitutional. The Court affirmed that marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," and to deny this freedom on the basis of racial classifications was to deprive citizens of liberty without due process of law.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Loving v. Virginia had far-reaching implications, invalidating laws against interracial marriage in 15 other states. The case set an important precedent, demonstrating that the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom to marry and that racial classifications in criminal statutes are subject to strict scrutiny.

The Lovings' case was based on the Fourteenth Amendment

The Lovings case, or Loving v. Virginia, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involved Richard Loving, a white man, and his wife Mildred Loving, a person of colour. In 1959, the Lovings were convicted of violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalized marriage between people classified as "white" and "coloured". The Lovings were sentenced to prison but the sentence was suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return.

The Lovings filed a motion to vacate their convictions on the ground that the Racial Integrity Act was unconstitutional, but this was denied. They appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which also ruled against them. The Lovings then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear their case.

In June 1967, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the Lovings' favour that overturned their convictions and struck down Virginia's Racial Integrity Act. The Court found that the law violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court's decision ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

The Lovings' case ruled anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional

The Lovings Case, or Loving v. Virginia, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled state laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional. The case involved Richard Loving, a white man, and his wife Mildred Loving, a person of colour. In 1959, the couple were convicted of violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which criminalised marriage between people classified as "white" and "coloured". The couple were sentenced to prison, but the sentence was suspended on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return.

The Lovings filed a motion to vacate their convictions on the ground that the Racial Integrity Act was unconstitutional, but this was denied. They then appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which also denied their appeal, before finally appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear their case.

In June 1967, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the Lovings' favour, overturning their convictions and striking down Virginia's Racial Integrity Act. The Court found that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law, because it was based solely on "distinctions drawn according to race". The Court also found that the law infringed upon the fundamental right of marriage.

The Lovings Case is considered a watershed moment in the dismantling of "Jim Crow" race laws and ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States. Despite the ruling, some states were slow to alter their laws, with Alabama being the last state to officially accept the ruling and remove an anti-miscegenation statute from its state constitution in 2000.

Frequently asked questions