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Congressional Research Service
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The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RL31994
Same-Sex Marriages:Legal Issues
Updated June 14, 2006
Alison M. SmithLegislative AttorneyAmerican Law Division
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues
Summary
Massachusetts became the first state to legalize marriage between same-sexcouples on May 17, 2004, as a result of a November 2003 decision by the state’shighest court that denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry violated thestate’s constitution. Currently, federal law does not recognize same-sex marriages.This report discusses the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), P.L. 104-199, whichprohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows individual states torefuse to recognize such marriages performed in other states, and discusses thepotential legal challenges to DOMA. Moreover, this report summarizes the legalprinciples applied in determining the validity of a marriage contracted in anotherstate, surveys the various approaches employed by states to prevent same-sexmarriage, and examines the recent House and Senate resolutions introduced in the109
th
Congress proposing a constitutional amendment (H.J.Res. 39, S.J.Res. 1, andS.J.Res. 13) and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine anyquestion pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA (H.R. 1100).
Contents
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)................................2Potential Constitutional Challenges to DOMA.......................4Full Faith and Credit Clause.................................4Equal Protection...........................................5Substantive Due Process (Right to Privacy).....................6Interstate Recognition of Marriage................................6States’ Responses..............................................8State Litigation............................................8State Constitutional Amendments............................11State “Civil Union” Laws..................................14Pending Federal Legislation.....................................15Conclusion..................................................17
List of Tables
Table 1. State Statutes Defining “Marriage”............................18
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