She was a black woman who just wanted to live with and love her white husband in peace. Mildred Loving, who died last week, inadvertently became an icon to those fighting strict and religiously fueled laws regulating marriage. Richard and Mildred Loving were married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, but after moving back to their home state of Virginia, were arrested for violating laws prohibiting interracial unions. Their fight to love each other went all the way to the Supreme Court, where, in 1967, laws banning interracial couples from marrying were turned over when the court said that the freedom to marry is "a basic civil right." Loving's incredibly appropriate last name has even been given to a national organization that recognizes June 12 as Loving Day, a day to celebrate interracial couples.
Unfortunately, this struggle still sounds familiar, even to someone born as late as 1985....Loving's struggle parallels that of many non-traditional couples currently wishing to wed. The court's decision to rid the nation of laws banning someone from marrying another simply because a third-party doesn't like it seems like a no-brainer to many of us today (and did to the court of 1967). Yet, why are we still fighting such a strong force that wants to keep gay unions, marriages, and parenting illegal? Is it only because the nature of the court has changed, thus making such a case obsolete these days? Or are we fighting greater social barriers? Will the issue of gay marriage progress with the passing of time, much as interracial marriage did, or are we facing a fiercer fight? What about those of us who see the issue as much more complicated than gay marriage or no gay marriage?
What do you all think?
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3 comments:
As is often the case, the farther we go, the farther we have to go, the more we question boundaries we may not have even been aware of, subject of John Sayle's film "Lone Star".
Nice choice, boss. Lone Star is one of my favorite Sayles flicks.
JDB--you get extra points at evaluation time for even having heard of Lone Star!
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