Bills
| 3.23.22

Should States Have The Right To Ignore Federal Law When Defining Marriages? (H.R. 824)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 824?

(Updated July 31, 2020)

This bill aims to protect State laws that regulate and define marriage from federal definitions. The bill allows States to use their own definition of “marriage” and “spouse” when applying federal law.

In a nutshell, the bill would affect same-sex couples that wed in states that allow same-sex marriage but live in states that prohibit same-sex marriage. Under the bill, States do not have to recognize same-sex marriage license performed out of state.

Argument in favor

States should be make their own legal definitions about marital relations, as it is their historic and religious right.

Argument opposed

States sovereignty and freedom should be preserved — but no state should have the right to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

Impact

LGBTQ couples living in states that prohibit same-sex marriage; States that ban same-sex marriage.

Cost of H.R. 824

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) explained in a press release that the bill would:

"help restore the 10th Amendment, affirm the authority of states to define and regulate marriage, as well as, provide clarity to federal agencies seeking to determine who qualifies as a spouse for the purpose of federal law. By requiring that the Federal Government defer to the laws of a person’s state of legal residence in determining marital status, we can protect states’ constitutionally established powers from the arbitrary overreach of unelected bureaucrats."

However, many oppose the bill on the grounds of supporting equality. As Stephen Peters at the Human Rights Campaign explains, the bill would allow states to remove benefits for same-sex couples:

"The bill would callously strip federal rights and benefits from married same-sex couples – like federal employee health benefits, military spouse benefits, immigration rights, and many others – simply because of the state in which they currently live."

Peters continues:

"This legislation would make our nation’s already-unfair patchwork of laws even more burdensome for same-sex couples, and undermine the promise of equal treatment embodied in the historic Windsor decision."

Of Note: Currently, 36 states recognize same sex marriage. The bill was written in the wake of , the Supreme Court case that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA limited the federal definition of “marriage” and “spouse” to only be applied to heterosexual couples. This bill hopes to produce a similar effect.

The bill uses  to corroborate the idea that states should remain sovereign when determining the definition of marriage. The first section of the bill states that  did not render a federal definition of marriage, meaning states still have the right to decide.

Media:

(Photo Credit: Flickr user WalterPro4755)