[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 97 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1213-E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 41ST ANNIVERSARY OF LOVING v. VIRGINIA

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2008

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a 
milestone in the struggle for equality and civil rights. On this day 41 
years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the United States would no 
longer allow race-based restrictions on marriage to deprive Americans 
of their rights. Today, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 
decision in Loving v. Virginia, we are once again reminded that America 
is a place of equality and freedom.
  As an interracial couple, Mildred and Richard Loving challenged laws 
in effect in Virginia and 15 other states which prohibited interracial 
marriage. On June 12, 1967 the Supreme Court recognized the merits of 
Mr. and Mrs. Loving's claims and overturned all race-based restrictions 
on marriage.
  The Court ruled unanimously that Virginia's prohibition against 
interracial marriage violated both the Due Process Clause and the Equal 
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In its decision, the 
Court held that, ``The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom 
of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial 
discrimination. 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.''
  On this day, I would like to celebrate the lives and audacity of both 
Mr. and Mrs. Loving, whose vision paved the way for a freer and more 
colorblind society in America. Richard Loving died in a car accident in 
1975 and we lost Mildred Loving to pneumonia only last month. It is the 
courage and the spirit of the Lovings and others like them that 
continue to give us hope that Americans from all walks of life will be 
free from discrimination.
  There have been recent efforts in Congress to strip the courts of 
jurisdiction by legislative means. This is ill-advisable and I hope the 
example of Loving v. Virginia serves as a reminder to us all that this 
is a precarious path. Should the Court have been stripped of 
jurisdiction to hear this case, as some have proposed for certain 
controversial issues, this landmark case would have never been 
possible. What was once highly controversial is now accepted as 
commonplace thanks to those judges who were, at the time, disparaged 
for being ``activist judges''. Today we are a better, stronger and 
fairer nation thanks to their jurisprudence.

[[Page E1214]]

  I would also like to pay tribute to a colleague and friend who played 
an integral part in the Loving v. Virginia case. I had the honor of 
serving with Attorney Bernard S. Cohen in the Virginia House of 
Delegates for 3 years. As Mr. and Mrs. Loving's attorney, Mr. Cohen 
worked tirelessly for the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment, and I 
think it is appropriate to recognize him for all of his efforts and his 
commitment to civil rights.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in remembering 
this historic case, and urge our nation to keep in mind the equality 
and freedom for which the Court's decision stands.

                          ____________________