Which case struck down laws banning interracial marriage?

Which case struck down laws banning interracial marriage?

• A. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• B. Loving v. Virginia (1967)
• C. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
• D. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Answer: (B)

The right to marry is a fundamental liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, and race-based classifications are scrutinized strictly. In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down laws banning interracial marriage, holding that marriage is a core liberty and that prohibiting it for people of different races violates both due process and equal protection. The decision rejects state interest arguments for anti-miscegenation laws as insufficient to justify such a racial restriction, because it treats interracial couples as less worthy of the constitutional protection granted to marriages. The ruling made clear that racial classifications in this context are unconstitutional and cannot stand in a society that guarantees equal protection and fundamental rights. The other cases address different issues: one upheld racial segregation in public facilities, another dealt with citizenship and rights before the Fourteenth Amendment, and the last extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. None specifically struck down laws banning interracial marriage, which is why Loving v. Virginia is the correct reference for this question.

The right to marry is a fundamental liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, and race-based classifications are scrutinized strictly. In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down laws banning interracial marriage, holding that marriage is a core liberty and that prohibiting it for people of different races violates both due process and equal protection. The decision rejects state interest arguments for anti-miscegenation laws as insufficient to justify such a racial restriction, because it treats interracial couples as less worthy of the constitutional protection granted to marriages. The ruling made clear that racial classifications in this context are unconstitutional and cannot stand in a society that guarantees equal protection and fundamental rights.

The other cases address different issues: one upheld racial segregation in public facilities, another dealt with citizenship and rights before the Fourteenth Amendment, and the last extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. None specifically struck down laws banning interracial marriage, which is why Loving v. Virginia is the correct reference for this question.