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The Marriage Protection Act: H.R. 1100 10/31/2003 What is the Marriage Protection Act? What is the Marriage Protection Act?
It is an insurance policy that will protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) from reckless federal judges who exceed their authority. It invokes procedures spelled out in the Constitution to withdraw from the federal courts jurisdiction over cases that might arise under DOMA.
What is the purpose of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)?
The federal Defense of Marriage Act, enacted in 1996, does two things. First, it defines marriage "for all purposes of federal law" as the union of one man and one woman. Second, it protects states, under the Constitution's "full faith and credit" clause, from being forced to recognize as a marriage any "union" other than that of one man and one woman. (This presumes that one or more states would legalize phony "marriages.")
What does the Marriage Protection Act do?
It prevents federal courts from hearing any case challenging the right of Congress to prescribe that the "full faith and credit" clause may not be used to force a state to recognize a pseudo-marriage performed in another state.
So, what would happen to these cases?
Cases that arise under the "full faith and credit" clause will be decided in state courts, which is exactly what Congress intended under DOMA. Again, even a bad court decision would have limited impact and could not set a precedent that would redefine marriage for the whole country.
What impact does the Marriage Protection Act have upon state matters?
It does not affect the states at all (nor does DOMA), so it will have no effect on challenges to state marriage laws currently in progress in Massachusetts (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health), New Jersey (Lewis v. Harris) and Indiana (Morrison v. Sadler). But even if one of those cases should result in the establishment of same-sex unions, the Marriage Protection Act would guarantee that this tragic decision could not be exported to other states via the federal courts.
How does the Marriage Protection Act compare to a federal marriage amendment?
A constitutional amendment would probably be required to prevent a state from redefining marriage. Passing a constitutional amendment, however, requires two-thirds supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, plus ratification by three-fourths of the states. The Marriage Protection Act requires only simple majorities in both Houses of Congress plus a presidential signature. Amending the Constitution is a long-term process, but the Marriage Protection Act can provide immediate protection against the most imminent threat to the definition of marriage - judicial overreaching.
The Marriage Protection Act is sponsored by Rep. John Hostettler (R-Indiana, 8th).
Michael Schwartz was formerly vice president for government relations for Concerned Women for America.
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