Legal Definitions - Defense of Marriage Act

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a federal law enacted in 1996 that significantly impacted the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. It had three main provisions:

• It stated that no individual state could be forced to recognize or give legal effect to same-sex marriages performed in other states.
• For all federal laws and purposes, it defined "marriage" exclusively as the legal union between one man and one woman.
• Similarly, for federal purposes, it defined "spouse" as referring only to a person of the opposite sex.

In essence, DOMA allowed states to refuse to acknowledge same-sex marriages from other states and prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions for any federal benefits, rights, or responsibilities, even if the couple was legally married under state law. The federal provisions of DOMA were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor (2013), and the remaining state non-recognition provision was effectively rendered unenforceable by Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

Here are some examples illustrating how the Defense of Marriage Act would have applied:

• State Non-Recognition: Imagine a same-sex couple, Sarah and Emily, legally married in Massachusetts in 2005, a state that recognized same-sex marriage at the time. If they later moved to Texas, which did not recognize same-sex marriage, DOMA allowed Texas to legally refuse to acknowledge their marriage. This meant that for state-level matters like divorce, property rights, or hospital visitation, Texas was not obligated to treat them as a married couple, despite their valid marriage certificate from Massachusetts.

• Federal Tax Benefits: Consider Mark and David, a same-sex couple legally married in New York in 2010. When it came time to file their federal income taxes, DOMA's definition of marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman meant that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a federal agency, would not recognize their union. Consequently, Mark and David were unable to file their federal taxes jointly as a married couple, missing out on certain tax benefits and deductions available to opposite-sex married couples, even though they could file jointly at the state level.

• Immigration Sponsorship: Suppose a U.S. citizen, Alex, married a foreign national, Ben, of the same sex in California in 2012. Alex wanted to sponsor Ben for a green card, a process typically available to spouses of U.S. citizens. However, under DOMA, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a federal agency, did not recognize same-sex marriages for immigration purposes. This meant that Alex could not petition for Ben as his spouse, denying Ben the pathway to legal residency that would have been available to an opposite-sex spouse.