Justice who voted against same-sex marriage is in once-illegal interracial marriage
Justice Clarence Thomas was one of the dissenting voices against same-sex marriage in the recent Supreme Court judgement.
He was one of four out of nine who argued against same-sex marriage.
This is despite the fact that he is, and has been for nearly 30 years, in a marriage that once upon a time would have been illegal.
Justice Thomas is African-American, and his wife, Virginia Thomas is white. They married in 1984.
Until the landmark case, Loving vs Virginia in 1967 – in which a white man and a black woman fought for their right to marry- marriages between people of different races were illegal in many states.
In 1961, when President Barack Obama was born, his parents would not have been able to marry in 16 states.
Justice Thomas said:”Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved.
“Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them.
“And those denied governmental benefits certainly do not lose their dignity because the government denies them those benefits. The government cannot bestow dignity, and it cannot take it away.”
