( CNN ) -- Today is the 46th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia , the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional any ban on interracial marriage . More than four decades after the historic and aptly named Loving decision , the U.S. Supreme Court is once again poised to rule in a case that could put an end to discriminatory bans prohibiting marriage , this time for gay and lesbian couples . This month , the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in a decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry , a case brought by two California couples challenging the constitutionality of the state 's ban on same sex marriages , commonly called Prop 8 . Attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies -- a Republican and Democrat best known for battling each other before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore -- have teamed up and taken the Perry case beyond California . Olson and Boies argued before the justices that the Supreme Court has the obligation under the Constitution to strike down not just Prop 8 , but all state laws banning marriage equality for gay and lesbian Americans . After all , they say , this is precisely how the court ruled in Loving -- and 13 other cases dating back to 1888 in which a majority of the justices stood up to protect the fundamental right of every American to marry the person he or she loves . A broad ruling in the Perry case this month would be a historic step forward in affirming that gay Americans are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as everyone else . Although I firmly believe public opinion is irrelevant to the court 's responsibility to ensure equality under the law , our nation is clearly ready to embrace marriage equality . When the Supreme Court struck down interracial marriage bans in 1967 , a Gallup poll found that only 20 % of Americans approved of such marriages . But the court fulfilled its duty to protect individual rights without regard to what was popular . Today , we have already have evolved much further on marriage equality . A growing bipartisan majority of voters -- 58 % -- support marriage rights for same-sex couples . When Richard Loving told his lawyer to `` tell the court I love my wife , '' he could not have known that his words would still be applicable 46 years later in the very same courtroom . There is never a wrong time to stand up for justice and equality , but the time has never been more right to stand up for gay rights than in the Perry case . As the Supreme Court weighs equality for gay and lesbian couples , the anniversary of Loving provides a timely reminder of a new legacy they could write for the history books . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile .
46 years ago , the Supreme Court struck down a ban on interracial marriage . Donna Brazile : Supreme Court can knock down another unconstitutional barrier . Court must rule gays , lesbians are entitled to same rights as everyone else , she says . Brazile : Justices can stand up for equality by striking down bans on same sex marriage .