In the twentieth century, more and more states allowed interracial marriages. In 1967 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that a Virginia state law banning interracial marriages violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. At the time of the Loving decision, more than a dozen states still had laws banning interracial marriages.
There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy. We have consistently denied the constitutionality of measures which restrict the rights of citizens on account of race. There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause.
- Can parties of the same sex marry?
- At what age can a person legally marry?
- What are the differences between civil unions and marriages?
- What are civil unions?
- What states still recognize common law marriages?
- Can cousins legally marry?
- What does the law say about limiting marriages between family members?
- Can parties who enter into a regular marriage change or convert that marriage into a covenant marriage?
- What states allow covenant marriages?
- What is a covenant marriage?
- Must you take a blood test before getting married?
- How much does a marriage license cost?
- What is a common law marriage?
- How can people be married?
- How is marriage defined by the law?
- What types of issues are covered by family law, or the law of domestic relations?
- Can your employer force you to take a polygraph test?
- What if you test positive for drugs, but you really believe that the test was wrong? Is there any recourse?
- Can your employer require you to take a drug test?
- How does the unemployment benefits process work?


