12 June 1967
Court decision / redressSupplement
Loving v. Virginia invalidates interracial-marriage bans
United States; interracial couples
The Supreme Court reversed the Lovings’ convictions and held Virginia’s racial restrictions on marriage unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses. Its holding barred states from restricting the freedom to marry solely because of race.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
The decision invalidated racial marriage restrictions; judicial invalidation is distinct from legislative repeal, and the Court did not decide every other restriction on marriage.