Defense of Marriage Act facts for kids
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| Long title | An Act to define and protect the institution of marriage |
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | DOMA |
| Enacted by | the 104th United States Congress |
| Effective | September 21, 1996 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub.L. 104-199 |
| Statutes at Large | 110 Stat. 2419 (1996) |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 1 U.S.C. General Provisions 28 U.S.C. Judiciary and Judicial Procedure |
| U.S.C. sections created | 1 U.S.C. § 7 (Struck down, June 26, 2013) |
| Legislative history | |
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| Major amendments | |
| Repealed by Respect for Marriage Act on December 13, 2022 |
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| United States Supreme Court cases | |
| United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307, 570 U.S. 744 (2013), in which Section 3 (1 U.S.C. § 7) was struck down by the Supreme Court on June 26, 2013. Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-566, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), in which Section 2 (1 U.S.C. § 7) was rendered superseded and unenforceable by the Supreme Court. |
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The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marriage to the union of one man and one woman, and it further allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states.
Congressman Bob Barr and Senator Don Nickles, both members of the Republican Party, introduced the bill that became DOMA in May 1996. It passed both houses of Congress by large, veto-proof majorities. Support was bipartisan, though about a third of the Democratic caucus in both the House and Senate opposed it. Clinton criticized DOMA as "divisive and unnecessary". He nonetheless signed it into law in September 1996.
Section 2 of the act allowed states to deny recognition of same-sex marriages conducted by other states. Section 3 codified non-recognition of same-sex marriages for all federal purposes, including insurance benefits for government employees, social security survivors' benefits, immigration, bankruptcy, and the filing of joint tax returns. It also excluded same-sex spouses from the scope of laws protecting families of federal officers, laws evaluating financial aid eligibility, and federal ethics laws applicable to opposite-sex spouses.
After its passage, DOMA was subject to numerous lawsuits and repeal efforts. In United States v. Windsor (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause, thereby requiring the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages conducted by the states. In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Court held that same-sex marriage was a fundamental right protected by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. The ruling required all states to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, leaving Section 2 of DOMA as superseded and unenforceable. On December 13, 2022, DOMA was repealed by the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act which was signed into law by President Joe Biden, who had previously voted in favor of DOMA as a Senator of Delaware.
Text
The main provisions of the act were as follows:
- Section 1. Short title
- This Act may be cited as the "Defense of Marriage Act".
- Section 2. Powers reserved to the states
- No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.
- Section 3. Definition of marriage
- In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.
Repeal
On September 15, 2009, three Democratic members of Congress, Jerrold Nadler of New York, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Jared Polis of Colorado, introduced legislation to repeal DOMA called the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill had 91 original co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and was supported by Clinton, Barr, and several legislators who voted for DOMA. Congressman Barney Frank and John Berry, head of the Office of Personnel Management, did not support that effort, stating that "the backbone is not there" in Congress. Frank and Berry suggested DOMA could be overturned more quickly through lawsuits such as Gill v. Office of Personnel Management filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).
Following Holder's announcement that the Obama Administration would no longer defend DOMA Section 3 in court, on March 16, 2011, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the Respect for Marriage Act in the Senate again and Nadler introduced it in the House. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10–8 in favor of advancing the bill to the Senate floor, but observers believed it would not gain the 60 votes needed to end debate and bring it to a vote.
After the Supreme Court struck down DOMA Section 3 on June 26, 2013, Feinstein and Nadler reintroduced the Respect for Marriage Act as S. 1236 and H.R. 2523. The Respect for Marriage Act cleared the 60 vote filibuster hurdle on November 16, 2022, when the Senate voted 62–37 to advance it. Joe Biden signed the repeal on December 13, 2022.
See also
- LGBT rights in the United States
- Marriage Protection Act (2004)
- Same-sex unions in the United States
- Respect for Marriage Act (2022)
