Marriage Protection Act

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The Marriage Protection Act is a bill considered by the U.S. Congress and passed by the House of Representatives in 2004, and reintroduced in the House in 2005, that sought to divest the power of the federal courts to hear cases related to the Marriage Protection Act itself, as well as certain cases relating to the Defense of Marriage Act.

According to its Republican sponsors, the intent behind the proposed law is to prevent federal courts from ordering states to recognize same-sex marriages that are permitted by other states.

Many politicians and constitutional law scholars have argued that this act is unconstitutional^{[citation needed]}. Other opponents have argued that passing this legislation would create a precedent for further efforts to prevent judges from ruling on other controversional issues, such as abortion. However, many supporters respond to the latter argument by stating that that is, in fact, the point. If such legislation passed, state supreme courts would be the final arbiters of the federal constitution. A state supreme court ruling in favor of gay marriage could not be reviewed by the Supreme Court, and the states would not be able to reverse the ruling without a constitutional amendment.