Respect for Marriage Act
Bill: S.4556 | Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

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.

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 Representatives 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. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT GIVEN TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY.

    Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking 
section 1738C and inserting the following:
``Sec. 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect 
              thereof
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `State' has the 
meaning given the term in section 7 of title 1.
    ``(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.''.

SEC. 3. MARRIAGE RECOGNITION.

    Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
``Sec. 7. Marriage
    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `State' means a State, 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any other 
territory or possession of the United States, or an Indian Tribe.
    ``(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.''.

SEC. 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.
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