R.I.P., Mrs. Loving

Yesterday marked the death of Mildred Loving, subject of the 1967 Supreme Court Decision that ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

I just wrote her a wikipedia article of her very own. One of those quiet individuals who quietly decides to stand up against injustice, not to get attention for herself, but to defend everyone's right to love.

I will celebrate Loving Day on June 12, and I hope you will join me. It was not until 2000 that the final mixed-marriage law was taken off the books (in Alabama), and we still have a long way to go towards equality in this country. Mildred Loving supported same-sex marriage as well. It is always a joy to read the words of someone who seemed to feel that the reasoning is as simple and obvious as it looks to me:

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.

(June 12, 2007 statement by Mildred Loving)