State Marriage Defense Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-435
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2015-02-10
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Intergovernmental relations

Marriage and family status

Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

State and local government operations
Latest action: action_date: 2015-02-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-02-10
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>State Marriage Defense Act of 2015</strong></p> <p>Prohibits, for purposes of determining the meaning of any Act of Congress or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of U.S. administrative bureaus and agencies as applied with respect to individuals domiciled in a state or in any other territory or possession of the United States: (1) the term "marriage" from including any relationship that the state, territory, or possession does not recognize as a marriage; and (2) the term "spouse" from including an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by that state, territory, or possession.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 435 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 10, 2015 Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Boozman , Mr. Crapo , Mr. Daines , Mr. Inhofe , Mr. Lankford , Mr. Lee , Mr. Roberts , Mr. Scott , Mr. Sessions , Mr. Shelby , and Mr. Vitter ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, with regard to the definition of marriage and spouse for Federal purposes and to ensure respect for State regulation of marriage.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the State Marriage Defense Act of 2015 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Congress affirms the States’ legitimate and proper public policy interests in regulating domestic relations and in defining marriage for the residents of their States. (2) Despite striking down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013) did not institute a new Federal definition of marriage that includes same sex marriage. Instead, United States v. Windsor specifically required the Federal Government to defer to state sovereign choices about who may be married in determining marital status for Federal purposes. (3) Congress recognizes that current actions by the Federal Government to afford benefits to certain relationships not recognized as marriages by a person’s State of residence go beyond the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor. These Federal actions create two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State, in direct contradiction of United States v. Windsor. (4) Actions taken by the Federal Government to grant recognition of marital status for persons not recognized as married in their State of domicile undermine a State’s legitimate authority to define marriage for its residents. 3. Amendment to definition of marriage for Federal purposes Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 7. Definition of marriage and spouse For purposes of determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, as applied with respect to individuals domiciled in a State or in any other territory or possession of the United States, the term marriage shall not include any relationship which that State, territory, or possession does not recognize as a marriage, and the term spouse shall not include an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by that State, territory, or possession. .