The Statutes of the United States



Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion3

Anti-Miscegenation Statutes in the United States3

Relevant Cases4

Loving v Virginia4

Pace v Alabama5

Comparison and contrast of both cases with regards to the Anti-Miscegenation Statutes6

Influence on Brown v. Board of Education and the Fourteenth Amendment7

Significance of the statute to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOM)7

Conclusion7

References9

The Statutes of the United States

Introduction

Statutes are written statements of a legislative body that governs a state or a city. They have the right to allow or prohibit something or make a policy. They are considered primary authority in the state. The word statute distinguishes the law made by a legislative body from the law made government or court. In the United States, statutes are published in the form of codes. There have been many statutes made in the past which have become a centre of controversy. Anti-Miscegenation statutes of the United States are example of such controversies.

Discussion

Anti-Miscegenation Statutes in the United States

Anti-Miscegenation laws have been in place in America even before the formation of the United States. Because of the discrimination on the basis of race, the Supreme Court declared these statutes unconstitutional in the year 1967 (Fredrickson, 1987). These anti-miscegenation statutes were passed on state basis to avoid miscegenation which is now commonly known as the interracial marriage and interracial sexual relationship. The couple involving white and black who would attempt to marry, not only held guilty for miscegenation, but also for offense charges of fornication or adultery.

Relevant Cases

Loving v Virginia

Facts of the case

The Virginia State enacted a law that stated that it's a legal offense to intermarry between a white and a black. The first case of such offense came in the year 1958, when a white man Richard married a black woman Mildred Loving. They were found guilty under the statute and were sentenced 1 year jail. The suspension was awarded when they promised that they will not enter the state of Virginia State for 25 years. When the statute was taken to the Virginia Supreme Court in 1966, it held the statute stating that the purpose of the Virginia statute was to preserve the racial integrity of its society. The court further stated that since the law is similar for both the white and the black, therefore it cannot be considered discrimination on the basis of race. Later in the year 1967, the US Supreme Court unanimously declared the statute of Loving v Virginia against the constitution of the United States.

Issues

The Loving v Virginia statute became a centre of many issues. There was an issue whether the statute of Virginia abided the equal protection clause of the constitution of the United States. There was an issue whether the constitutionality of the statutes should be judged on rational basis. A statute is implemented on state level that does not mean that the statute is not liable for scrutiny or review. The statute was clearly showing that it was based on racial discrimination.

Rule

The rule of Loving v Virginia restricted the liberty of intermarries between a white and a ...