In the late 1960s, the Warren court overturned the criminal convictions of Mildred Loving and her husband for violating Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute, holding that "the freedom to marry" is "one of the basic civil rights of man, fundamental to our very existence and survival." When the court issued its Loving opinion in 1967, Gallup pegged nationwide support for interracial marriage at 20 percent, with 73 percent opposed. While nearly 80 percent of Americans support the legalization of interracial marriage today, public opinion took its time: Support did not reach a plurality until 1991.
In contrast, when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments March 26 and 27 on the constitutionality of laws restricting state and federal recognition of same-sex marriages, it will do so with Gallup’s national polling at 53 percent in support. That figure has jumped from 27 percent in 1996, half the time interracial marriage took to bridge that same gap, and the trend shows little sign of slowing. But how the justices will react to trends showing rapidly growing public approval of same-sex marriage is hard to guess. Could the Roberts court issue another Loving?
The Cases
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