Supreme Court Rulings Yesterday & Today: We Still Believe in Freedom
The writ of habeas corpus and interracial marriage are two legal concepts that we don’t think about very much and, frankly, we Americans take them for granted. That’s why I’d like to say a few words about “Loving Day” (June 12, 1967) and today’s Supreme Court repudiation of the Bush Administration’s suspension of habeas corpus.
Here’s the sort of foolishness addressed by Loving vs. Virginia: “Almighty God created the races, white, black, yellow, Malay, and red and placed them on separate continents, and but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend the races to mix.”
- Judge Bazile, Caroline County, VA, 1965.
Today is the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling legalizing interracial marriage. The case known as Loving vs. Virginia struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in 16 states citing “There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause.” June 12 is celebrated by many interracial couples and families as “Loving Day.” It’s the day in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the laws banning interracial marriage. The day is named for the couple who brought the case to court, Richard and Mildred Loving. In today’s multi-cultural America, it’s hard to believe that mixed-race marriages were illegal as late as 1967. It is, therefore fitting to celebrate the fact that 41 years later Barack Obama, the son of a mixed-race marriage, is running for the highest office in the land.
Now, I’d like to say a few words about today’s Supreme Court ruling repudiating the Bush Administration’s claim that Guantanamo detainees may be held without the right to representation. As a result the court has finally granted the writ of habeas corpus (”you have the body”) to the 270 detainees, some of whom have been in prison for 6-7 years. On this issue, I’m in total agreement with the Supreme Court. No matter how strongly we feel about national security and the fight against terrorism, we cannot give up our right to be represented by council, to know what crimes we are being charged with and, most importantly, that we can challenge, in public, those charges against us.
HABEAS CORPUS………………………………………….WELCOME BACK!
