Respect for Marriage Act

To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Respect for Marriage Act 2. Full faith and credit given to marriage equality Chapter 115 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof (a) Definition In this section, the term State (b) Prohibition No person acting under color of law of a State may deny— (1) full faith and credit to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals; or (2) a right or claim arising from such a marriage on the basis that such marriage would not be recognized under the law of such other State on the basis of the sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals. (c) Enforcement by attorney general The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court of the United States against any person who violates subsection (b) for declaratory and injunctive relief. (d) Private right of action Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (b) may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court of the United States against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief. . 3. Marriage recognition Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 7. Marriage (a) Definition In this section, the term State (b) Marriage For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if— (1) the marriage of the individual is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into; or (2) in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, the marriage— (A) is valid in the place where entered into; and (B) could have been entered into in a State. . 4. Severability If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, any amendment made thereby, or the application of such provision or amendment to all other persons, entities, governments, or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

Summary: Respect for Marriage Act This bill provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The bill also repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations.