DOMA Explained

The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996 whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, also known as DOMA, no state (or other political subdivision within the United States) may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state. The law passed both houses of Congress by large majorities.

At the time of passage, it was expected that Hawaii (and possibly other states) would soon legalize same-sex marriage, whether by legislation or judicial interpretation of either the state or federal constitution. Opponents of such recognition feared—and many proponents hoped—that the other states would then be required to recognize such marriages under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.

Section 3 of the law—the part that defines marriage for federal purposes as the union of a man and a woman—was ruled unconstitutional by a federal district court judge in July 2010. This decision was appealed in October 2010. On February 23, 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would cease legal defense of the Act’s Section 3 at the direction of President Barack Obama, who had reached a conclusion that Section 3 was unconstitutional. However, Congress may defend the law in court in place of the administration, and on March 4, 2011, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he was taking steps to defend Section 3 in place of the Department of Justice. Additionally, the administration intends to enforce the law “unless and until Congress repeals Section 3 or the judicial branch renders a definitive verdict against the law’s constitutionality.”