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| Repealed by Respect for Marriage Act on December 13, 2022 |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 Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-566, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), in which Section 2 (1 U.S.C. § 7) was rendered superseded and unenforceable by the Supreme Court.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 that became active on September 21, 1996. President Bill Clinton signed it into law. This law said that the United States government would only see marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It also allowed states to choose not to recognize same-sex marriages that were legal in other states.
Congressman Bob Barr and Senator Don Nickles introduced the bill that became DOMA in May 1996. They were both members of the Republican Party. The bill passed easily in both the House and Senate. This meant it had enough votes to pass even if the President tried to stop it. Many lawmakers from both major parties supported it. However, about one-third of the Democratic members in both the House and Senate did not support it. President Clinton called DOMA "divisive and unnecessary," but he still signed it into law.
Contents
What was the Defense of Marriage Act?
DOMA had two main parts, called sections.
Section 2: States' Rights
Section 2 of DOMA allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. This applied even if those marriages were legally performed in other states. For example, if a same-sex couple got married in one state, another state could choose not to see their marriage as valid.
Section 3: Federal Definition of Marriage
Section 3 of DOMA said that for all federal purposes, marriage meant only a legal union between one man and one woman. This part of the law affected many areas. It included things like:
- Benefits for government employees.
- Social Security benefits for spouses.
- Rules about immigration.
- How couples filed their tax returns.
- Laws that protected families of federal officers.
- Rules for financial aid eligibility.
This meant that same-sex spouses were not included in these federal laws and benefits.
Challenges to DOMA
After DOMA became law, many people challenged it. They filed lawsuits and tried to get the law changed.
United States v. Windsor (2013)
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case called United States v. Windsor. The Court decided that Section 3 of DOMA was against the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. This clause says that the government must respect all legal rights of a person. Because of this ruling, the federal government had to recognize same-sex marriages that were legally performed in states.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Two years later, in 2015, the Supreme Court made another big decision in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. The Court ruled that same-sex marriage was a basic right for everyone. This right is protected by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The Equal Protection Clause means that all people should be treated equally under the law. This ruling meant that all states had to allow and recognize same-sex marriages. This made Section 2 of DOMA, which allowed states to refuse recognition, no longer valid or enforceable.
Repealing DOMA
Even after the Supreme Court rulings, efforts continued to fully repeal DOMA.
Early Efforts
On September 15, 2009, three members of Congress, Jerrold Nadler, Tammy Baldwin, and Jared Polis, introduced a bill to repeal DOMA. It was called the Respect for Marriage Act. Many lawmakers supported this new bill, including some who had voted for DOMA in 1996.
The Respect for Marriage Act
After the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of DOMA in 2013, lawmakers continued to push for the Respect for Marriage Act. On November 16, 2022, the Senate voted to advance the bill. This was a big step towards its passage. Finally, on December 13, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law. This act officially repealed the Defense of Marriage Act. It replaced DOMA with a law that protects marriage equality for all couples.
See also
- LGBT rights in the United States
- Marriage Protection Act (2004)
- Same-sex unions in the United States
- Respect for Marriage Act (2022)
