Defense of Marriage Act Facts

Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the short title of a federal law of the United States passed on September 21, 1996 as Public Law No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419. Its provisions are codified at 1 U.S.C. § 7 and 28 U.S.C. § 1738C. The law has two effects:

  1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
  2. The federal government defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman.

The bill was passed by Congress by a vote of 85-14 in the Senate and a vote of 342-67 in the House of Representatives, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996.

At the time of passage, it was expected that Hawaii (and possibly other states) would soon legalize same-sex marriage, whether by legislation or judicial interpretation of either the state or federal constitution. Opponents of such recognition feared (and many proponents hoped) that the other states would then be required to recognize such marriages under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.

Four states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont) currently allow same-sex marriage (with Maine and New Hampshire having passed not-yet-implemented legislation to join that list), five states recognize some alternative form of same-sex union, twelve states ban any recognition of any form of same-sex unions including civil union, twenty-eight states have adopted amendments to their state constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage, and another twenty states have enacted state-level statues to the same effect.

From Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License
Mon Sep 14 13:06:37 2009

Marriage Directory

See also:

  • Lasting Marriages NetworkLasting Marriages Network
    lastingmarriages.net
    Newsletter, workshops and other resources for marriage discussions.
  • Marriage at BellaOnlineMarriage at BellaOnline
    bellaonline.com
    Articles, chat and a forum for couples looking for resources about marriage and related issues.
  • Open MarriageOpen Marriage
    groups.yahoo.com
    A forum about a committed marital relationship that allows for intimate or secondary friendships. Whether you are in one and can give advice, or you are curious, input welcome from anyone discussing the topic objectively.
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Wed Sep 16 02:22:16 2009
Defense of Marriage Act Answers
Did you know that the "Defense of Marriage Act" was signed by Bill Clinton in 1996?
Q. It defines marriage only as the legal union of a man and a woman. It allows states to not recognize same-sex marriage licenses issued by other states.
Asked by poppyg - Fri May 8 16:11:19 2009 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments

A. The media refuses to mention this though it's interesting that during the campaign both Obama and Biden came out against legalizing same sex marriage. I don't know why that isn't reported anymore.
Answered by yablocksthetruth - Fri May 8 16:17:14 2009

The Defense of Marriage Act is principally intended to combat...?
Q. The Defense of Marriage Act is principally intended to combat: A) domestic violence B) gay marriage C) child abuse D) divorce E) polygamy
Asked by Anon12345 - Sun Jul 27 19:41:06 2008 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments

A. B Is this really a homework question?
Answered by liberal italienne goddess v1.02 - Sun Jul 27 19:44:10 2008

Legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act?
Q. When Massachusetts legalized marriage in 2003, there was an existing state law from 1913 that prevented non-residents from marrying in the state if they are prohibited from marrying in their home state due to anti-miscegenation laws in other states at the time and the law is now used for same sex marriages. Since California does not have such a law, a same sex couple from a state that bans same sex marriage can legally marry in California when the California Supreme Court's decision takes effect in 30 days and have that marriage not be valid in their home state. Since Article IV, Section 1 of the US Constitution states "Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other… [cont.]
Asked by unknown - Thu May 15 21:50:21 2008 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Actually this has already been coming up in a number of legal cases. The New York state supreme court recently ruled that the state had to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and in Canada based on the full faith and credit clause. There are several divorce and custody cases where one spouse/parent fled to another state which specifically forbids the recognition of same sex unions, and simply tried to get their previous union declared legally void. So far none of these attempts have been successful both because they are an obvious attempt to bypass property and parental rights laws, and because of the full faith clause. There are also a number of cases where during travel a couple has had their legal rights as a… [cont.]
Answered by Reformed Ascetic - Fri May 16 05:49:25 2008

From Yahoo Answer Search: "Defense of Marriage Act"
Thu Sep 24 02:56:52 2009