Title: Loving v. Virginia Codification Act of 2022
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
Loving v. Virginia Codification Act of 2022
This bill provides statutory authority for interracial marriages.
Specifically, the bill prohibits any state from enacting a law or regulation that infringes on the right to marry or not marry a person of another race. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.)
The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action for violations. It also establishes a private right of action through Section 1983 lawsuits (Section 1983 is a federal statute that allows individuals to sue state or local government actors for violations of constitutional rights).

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8396 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8396

To protect the constitutional right to marry a person of another race, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 15, 2022

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect the constitutional right to marry a person of another race, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Loving v. Virginia Codification Act 
of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In Loving v. Virginia (388 U.S. 1 (1967)), the United 
        States Supreme Court stated ``Marriage is one of the `basic 
        civil rights of man'''.
            (2) In Loving v. Virginia (388 U.S. 1 (1967)), the United 
        States Supreme Court stated ``Under the Constitution, the 
        freedom to marry or not marry a person of another race resides 
        with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State''.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF RIGHT TO MARRY.

    (a) In General.--A State may not enact a law or regulation that 
infringes on the right to marry or not marry a person of another race.
    (b) Enforcement by Attorney General.--The Attorney General may 
commence a civil action on behalf of the United States against any 
State that violates, or against any government official that implements 
or enforces a law or regulation that violates subsection (a). The court 
shall hold unlawful and set aside the law or regulation if it is in 
violation of subsection (a).
    (c) Private Right of Action.--A violation of subsection (a) 
constitutes a deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities 
secured by the Constitution and laws for purposes of section 1979 of 
the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), and a 
person injured thereby may bring an action under such section.
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