1942: Skinner v. Oklahoma
We start out in 1942, with the US Supreme Court case Skinner v. Oklahoma.
This case is important if you’re an interracial couple, if you’re a same-sex couple, or if, as in this case, you’re a prison inmate – particularly one who’s facing forced sterilization for your crime. And this is the answer to one of the questions we asked…
Marriage is “one of the basic civil rights”
The court in 1942 says that depriving someone of the right to procreate or the right to marry is unconstitutional, and that marriage is “one of the basic civil rights”.
updated 17 Aug 2008