Facts of the Case
The appellee, a white woman living in Virginia, and the appellant, a Chinese man living outside of Virginia, went to North Carolina to be married on June 26, 1952, specifically because there was a Virginia statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 , banning interracial marriage, while North Carolina law banned marriages between whites and blacks but not between whites and Asians. They then returned to Virginia, where they lived as husband and wife. A year after the marriage, Ruby Naim filed for annulment , as the marriage was in contravention of Virginia's miscegenation laws, with Han Say Naim arguing that a marriage valid in North Carolina was valid throughout the United States. The circuit court of the city of Portsmouth granted an annulment, but Han Say Naim appealed to the state supreme court, which upheld the circuit court's decision.
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Conclusions
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Han Say Naim's attorney, David Carliner , attempted to appeal the state's decision to the Supreme Court of the United States , with the backing of the American Jewish Congress , the Japanese American Citizens League , the Association on American Indian Affairs and the Association of Immigration and Nationality Lawyers. The justices, however, refused to consider the appeal, fearing that to do so would further encourage opposition to the enforcement of Brown v. Board of Education . Justice Tom C. Clark reportedly said, "one bombshell at a time is enough."
Perry, Same-Sex Marriage, and Federal Constitutional Guarantees
Engage Volume 12, Issue 3, November 2011
Note from the Editor: This article and the article in this issue by George W....
