State Marriage Defense Act of 2014 - Prohibits, for purposes of determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of U.S. administrative bureaus and agencies, as applied with respect to individuals domiciled in a state or in any other territory or possession of the United States: (1) the term "marriage" from including any relationship that the state, territory, or possession does not recognize as a marriage; and (2) the term "spouse" from including an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by that state, territory, or possession.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2024 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
Calendar No. 308
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2024
To amend chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, with regard to the
definition of ``marriage'' and ``spouse'' for Federal purposes and to
ensure respect for State regulation of marriage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 12, 2014
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Lee, Mr. Vitter, and Mr. Roberts) introduced
the following bill; which was read the first time
February 24, 2014
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, with regard to the
definition of ``marriage'' and ``spouse'' for Federal purposes and to
ensure respect for State regulation of marriage.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State Marriage Defense Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress affirms the States' legitimate and proper
public policy interests in regulating domestic relations and in
defining marriage for the residents of their States.
(2) Despite striking down section 3 of the Defense of
Marriage Act, the Supreme Court ruling in United States v.
Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013) did not institute a new Federal
definition of marriage that includes same sex marriage.
Instead, United States v. Windsor specifically required the
Federal Government to defer to ``state sovereign choices about
who may be married'' in determining marital status for Federal
purposes.
(3) United States v. Windsor reaffirmed that the ``historic
and essential authority to define the marital relation'' rests
with the States and criticized Federal actions that ``put a
thumb on the scales and influence a state's decision as to how
to shape its own marriage laws''.
(4) Congress recognizes that current actions by the Federal
Government to afford benefits to certain relationships not
recognized as marriages by a person's State of residence go
beyond the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor.
These Federal actions create ``two contradictory marriage
regimes within the same State,'' in direct contradiction of
United States v. Windsor.
(5) Actions taken by the Federal Government to grant
recognition of marital status for persons not recognized as
married in their State of domicile undermine a State's
legitimate authority to define marriage for its residents.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES.
Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``Sec. 7. Definition of `marriage' and `spouse'
``For purposes of determining the meaning of any Act of Congress,
or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various
administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, as applied
with respect to individuals domiciled in a State or in any other
territory or possession of the United States, the term `marriage' shall
not include any relationship which that State, territory, or possession
does not recognize as a marriage, and the term `spouse' shall not
include an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not
recognized as a marriage by that State, territory, or possession.''.
Calendar No. 308
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2024
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, with regard to the
definition of ``marriage'' and ``spouse'' for Federal purposes and to
ensure respect for State regulation of marriage.
_______________________________________________________________________
February 24, 2014
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
Introduced in Senate
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 308.
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