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Federal
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
In 1996, Congress adopted the federal Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA). Pub. L. 104-199, 100 Stat. 2419 (Sept. 21, 1996).
Congress passed DOMA because of a decades-long assault on
marriage, and particularly in response to a Hawaii court decision
that suggested there is a right to same-sex “marriage”
in the Hawaii Constitution. The legislative history reflects
a congressional concern about the effect that legalizing same-sex
“marriage” in Hawaii would have on other states,
federal laws, the institution of marriage, traditional notions
of morality, and state sovereignty. H.R. Rep. No. 104-664
at 1-18 (1996), reprinted in 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2905-23.
DOMA has two sections, one defining “marriage”
for purposes of federal law, and the other affirming federalism
principles under the authority granted by Article IV, Section
1 of the Constitution, the Full Faith and Credit Clause. The
first section states that for purposes of federal law, marriage
means a legal union between a man and a woman:
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.
Pub. L. 104-199, sec 1, 100 Stat. 2419 (Sep. 21, 1996), codified
at 1 U.S.C. § 7 (1997). The second section reaffirmed
the power of the states to make their own decisions about
marriage:
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.
Pub. L. 104-199 sec. 2, 100 Stat. 2419 (Sep. 21, 1996), codified
at 28 U.S.C. § 1738C (1997).
Legislative History
DOMA was signed by President Clinton on Sept. 21, 1996, becoming Pub.L. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419, codified at 1 USC 7 and 28 USC 1738C. It passed the Congress as H.R. 3396.
DOMA passed the U.S. House on July 12, 1996 by a vote of 342-67 (vote no. 316). Floor statements on the bill will appear in the Congressional Record of that day. House hearings on DOMA were held on May 15, 1996 in a subcommittee of the Judiciary, Committee on the Constitution.
The leading legislative record is the House Report, No. 104-664. The hearing before the subcommittee can be found here.
DOMA passed the U.S. Senate, unamended, on September 10, 1996, by a vote of 85 to 14 (vote no. 280). The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on July 11, 1996 (on the bill S. 1740), and they were printed as Senate Hearings 104-533.
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