I want my L[aw] TV

Tonight at 9 p.m., HBO debuts The Loving Story, a documentary on Mildred and Richard Loving, whose interracial marriage provided the basis for SCOTUS's decision striking down anti-miscegination laws in Loving v. Virginia (still at the top of the list of appropriate SCOTUS case names). Here is a review of the program by Time's James Poniewozik, although I have no idea how a law-trained audience may view the show. This program is especially timely, premiering as it does: 1) on Valentine's Day; 2) on the heels of the Ninth Circuit decision on the constitutionality of Prop 8 in Perry; and 3) on the closer heels of the statutory recognition of same-sex marriage in Washington.

A fun parlor game for law-and-policy geeks is to argue over what legal issues we will look back on 50 years from now and say  "how could that have possibly been up for debate?". I believe same-sex marriage will be one such issue--much as we now view anti-miscegination laws.

A preview of the show after the jump. I may have more to say after I've watched it.

 

Preview - The Loving Story