Alabama Interracial Nuptial Ban Nears End
Alabama lawmakers have approved an amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate the nation’s last remaining ban on interracial marriages.
The amendment will take effect if approved by voters in a special election Oct. 12. The proposal was approved by the state House in April and by the Senate on Tuesday without dissent.
“It sends a good message across this country that Alabama is not as backwards as some people think it is,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes.
Alabama’s constitution, written in 1901, contains a prohibition against a black person, or any descendant of a black person, marrying a white person.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1967 struck down a Virginia law banning interracial marriages. Since then, laws such as Alabama’s have been unenforceable. South Carolinians voted to remove a similar ban from their constitution in November, and the state Legislature ratified the action in February.
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