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PRINTER'S NO. 1991
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
398
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY SANTORA, HENNESSEY, DEAN, BIZZARRO, DAVIS,
READSHAW, CHARLTON, CALTAGIRONE, MILLARD, ROE, DONATUCCI,
FREEMAN, DiGIROLAMO, SCHWEYER, SONNEY, DUSH, SCHLOSSBERG,
ROZZI, V. BROWN, ROEBUCK, D. COSTA AND MURT, JUNE 13, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 13, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing June 12, 2017, as "Loving Day" in Pennsylvania and
encouraging the residents of this Commonwealth to celebrate
the landmark 1967 United States Supreme Court ruling in
Loving v. Virginia, which struck down all antimiscegenation
laws.
WHEREAS, Mildred Jeter, a woman of African and Rappahannock
descent, and Richard Loving, a white man, met when Mildred was
11 years of age and Richard was 17 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Loving and Jeter grew up in Caroline County,
Virginia, where state laws forbade individuals of different
races to marry; and
WHEREAS, Interracial marriage was legal in Washington, DC,
and the couple married there in 1958; and
WHEREAS, The law in Virginia and 24 other states not only
forbade interracial marriage ceremonies, but also forbade
interracial couples from getting married elsewhere and returning
to the state; and
WHEREAS, Many states also restricted relationships between
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Asians, Native Americans, Indians, Hispanics and other ethnic
groups; and
WHEREAS, As a married couple, the Lovings were arrested a few
weeks after they returned to their hometown near Richmond,
Virginia; and
WHEREAS, The couple pleaded guilty to charges of cohabiting
as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the
Commonwealth of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, The judge sentenced them to a jail term of 1 to 3
years but suspended their sentence when the couple agreed to
leave Virginia for a period of 25 years; and
WHEREAS, The Lovings moved to Washington, DC, and began legal
action by writing to United States Attorney General Robert F.
Kennedy who referred the case to the American Civil Liberties
Union; and
WHEREAS, In 1967, Loving v. Virginia was argued before the
United States Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that state
bans on interracial marriage were unconstitutional; and
WHEREAS, The Loving decision also ruled state restrictions on
marriage between individuals of different ethnic groups
unconstitutional; and
WHEREAS, In 2004, "Loving Day" grew out of a graduate thesis
project by graphic designer Ken Tanabe at Parsons School of
Design; and
WHEREAS, Each June 12, the anniversary of the Loving
decision, events throughout the United States mark the advances
of mixed-race couples and multicultural identity; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize June
12, 2017, as "Loving Day" in Pennsylvania and encourage the
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residents of this Commonwealth to celebrate the 1967 landmark
United States Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia, which
struck down all antimiscegenation laws.
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