II 
Calendar No. 449 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8404 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 20, 2022 
Received; read the first time 
JULY 21, 2022 
Read the second time and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect 
for State regulation of marriage, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Respect for Marriage 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF SECTION ADDED TO TITLE 28, UNITED 
STATES CODE, BY SECTION 2 OF THE DE-
FENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT. 
Section 1738C of title 28, United States Code, is re-
pealed. 
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SEC. 3. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT GIVEN TO MARRIAGE 
EQUALITY. 
Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, as 
amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after 
section 1738B the following: 
‘‘§ 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and 
the effect thereof 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person acting under color of 
State law may deny— 
‘‘(1) full faith and credit to any public act, 
record, or judicial proceeding of any other State per-
taining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the 
basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of 
those individuals; or 
‘‘(2) a right or claim arising from such a mar-
riage on the basis that such marriage would not be 
recognized under the law of that State on the basis 
of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those 
individuals. 
‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 
Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appro-
priate United States district court against any person who 
violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief. 
‘‘(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person who 
is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a 
civil action in the appropriate United States district court 
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against the person who violated such subsection for declar-
atory and injunctive relief. 
‘‘(d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘State’ has the meaning given such term under section 7 
of title 1.’’. 
SEC. 4. MARRIAGE RECOGNITION. 
Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 7. Marriage 
‘‘(a) For the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or 
regulation in which marital status is a factor, an indi-
vidual shall be considered married if that individual’s mar-
riage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered 
into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any 
State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered 
into and the marriage could have been entered into in a 
State. 
‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘State’ means a State, 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United 
States. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of subsection (a), in determining 
whether a marriage is valid in a State or the place where 
entered into, if outside of any State, only the law of the 
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jurisdiction applicable at the time the marriage was en-
tered into may be considered.’’. 
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of such provision to any 
person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or any amend-
ment made thereby, or the application of such provision 
to all other persons, entities, governments, or cir-
cumstances, shall not be affected thereby. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 19, 2022. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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