Equal Protection

In 1958, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, both residents of Virginia, got married in the District of Columbia. Since Mildred was and African American woman, and Richard was a white man, the state of Virginia felt as though they both were in violation of the anti-miscegenation law. That law, in short, did not allow for inter-racial marriages to take place in the state of Virginia, although the pair did not wed in Virginia, they did move back shorty after. In a local court decision, the two were found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail. The trial judge agreed to lessen the sentence if the pair were top leave Virginia and not return for 25 years. The question arose as to whether Virginia's anti-miscegenation law was in violation of the 14th amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
In an appeal of the decision by a higher level court, the decision was unanimous in favor of the Loving's. The ruling stated that Virginia's law against inter-racial marriages was unconstitutional and in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The Court rejected the states argument that stated that the law was fair because it applied to both blacks and whites. Chief Justice Earl Warren said, '"Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State." In conclusion, the Equal Protection Clause helped to secure these people's freedoms so that their rights could not be violated by laws that were unconstitutional.

Article: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1966/1966_395
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