Same Sex Marriage

Introduction

The current debate over same-sex marriage focuses on federal policies, court rulings, state laws, and city ordinances. The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, creates an exception to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for enforcement of contracts and other state laws across state lines. DOMA defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman for purposes of federal law and allows states to refuse to acknowledge the legality of same-sex marriages performed in other states. DOMA passed in reaction to a 1993 Hawaii supreme court ruling stating it was ...