Question: what is the defense of marriage act 1996

title: Defense of Marriage Act
text: The Defense of Marriage Act ( DOMA ) ( Pub. L. 104 -- 199 , 110 Stat. 2419 , enacted September 21 , 1996 , 1 U.S.C. § 7 and 28 U.S.C. § 1738C ) was a United States federal law that , prior to being ruled unconstitutional , defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman , and allowed states to refuse to recognize same - sex marriages granted under the laws of other states . Until Section 3 of the Act was struck down in 2013 ( United States v. Windsor ) , DOMA , in conjunction with other statutes , had barred same - sex married couples from being recognized as `` spouses '' for purposes of federal laws , effectively barring them from receiving federal marriage benefits . DOMA 's passage did not prevent individual states from recognizing same - sex marriage , but it imposed constraints on the benefits received by all legally married same - sex couples . 

Answer: answer: The Defense of Marriage Act, enacted September 21 , 1996, was a United States federal law that , prior to being ruled unconstitutional , defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman , and allowed states to refuse to recognize same - sex marriages granted under the laws of other states.