The Respect for Marriage Act, or RFMA (H.R. 1116,S. 598), is a proposed bill in the United States Congress that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow the U.S. federal government to provide benefits to couples in a same-sex marriage; the bill would not compel individual states to recognize same-sex marriages. It is supported by former U.S. Representative Bob Barr, original sponsor of the Defense of Marriage Act, and former President Bill Clinton, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.[1]
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Until 1996, the federal government of the United States customarily recognized marriages conducted legally in any state for the purpose of federal legislation.[2] Over fears that Hawaii would legalize same-sex marriage through a pending lawsuit at the time (which did not occur), Congress swiftly passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which, among other things,[3] carves out an exception forbidding the federal government from recognizing valid state same-sex marriages.[2]
H.R. 3567:[4]
a) repeals section 1738C of title 28 of the United States Code
b) amends Section 7 of title 1 in the United States Code to read:
(a) For the purposes of any Federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State. (b) In this section, the term 'State' means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States.
The 2009 bill was introduced by U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler of New York on September 15, 2009, and garnered 120 cosponsors.[5]
The 2011 bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York on March 16, 2011, and a U.S. Senate version was introduced by Dianne Feinstein of California on the same day. President Obama announced his support for the bill on July 19, 2011.[6]
In September 2011, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida became the 125th cosponsor of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Republican member of the U.S. Congress to announce support for the bill.[7]
On July 20, 2011, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont chaired the first-ever congressional hearing on a proposal to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).[8][9] On October 25, 2011, Sen. Leahy announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee would begin debate on November 3, 2011, with a committee vote likely to happen the following week.[10] On November 3, 2011, the bill was debated in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where its passage was a foregone conclusion due to sufficient votes to pass being found in the 10 Democratic members of the committee, who are cosponsors of the bill; however, Republicans on the Committee requested the vote be delayed one week.[11] During the debate Sen. Feinstein noted that DOMA denies same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits that are provided to all other members of that class, legally married couples, including rights to Social Security spousal benefits, protection from estate taxes when a spouse passes away, and the ability to file taxes jointly and claim certain deductions.[12] The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 in favor of advancing the bill to the Senate floor, where it would require 60 votes in order to end a potential fillibuster.[13]
Congress | Short title | Bill number(s) | Date introduced | Sponsor(s) | # of cosponsors | Latest status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
112th Congress | Respect for Marriage Act | S. 598 | March 16, 2011 | Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) | 30 | Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee; sent to Senate floor.[13] |
H.R. 1116 | March 16, 2011 | Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) | 135 | Referred to the House Judiciary Committee | ||
111th Congress | Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 | H.R. 3567 | September 15, 2009 | Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) | 120 | Referred to the House Judiciary Committee Referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. |