Unidad 8 - FAMILIA ALUMNOS DOMA TEXTOS 3 y 4

TEXTO 3:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/defense_of_marriage_act_(doma)
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a federal law passed by the 104th United
States Congress intended to define and protect the institution of marriage. This law
specifically defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman which allowed
individual states to not recognize same-sex marriages that were performed and
recognized under other states’ laws. Nonetheless, this law's sections were ruled
unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in cases such as United States v.
Windsor (2013) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).
DOMA specifically stated that "the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the
opposite sex who is a husband or a wife” and further states that “[i]n 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, the word
'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband
and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a
husband or a wife.”
The implications of this law were that it denied many benefits and recognition
to same-sex couples that opposite-sex couples enjoyed. These benefits included but
were not limited to: over 1,000 federal protections and privileges such as access to a
spouse’s employment benefits, the recognition of the marriage itself, the rights
of inheritance, joint tax returns and exemptions, and the right to cohabit together in
a college or military housing.
In fact, DOMA authorized that states that banned same-sex marriage did not have to
recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states and further
specified that in regards to federal law, marriage is only between a man and a
woman. This law had overwhelming support within Congress while there was
speculation that Hawaii was going to soon recognize same-sex marriage, which could
force or prompt other states to recognize same-sex marriages that occurred in
Hawaii. President Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law on September 21, 1996.
Afterwards, about 40 states enacted specific bans on same-sex marriage.
One of the major provisions of this law was that a non-biological parent could not
have a legal relationship with a child of the biological parent in a same-sex couple.
Moreover, same-sex couples could not take medical leave to care for their partners
or non-biological children. They also could not adopt children and during divorce
Material didáctico alumnos: Unidad Familia

proceedings, they could not petition the court for custody, visitation rights, or child
support.
The supporters of DOMA believed that opposite-sex marriage was the only
appropriate method for family formation and procreation. One of the major
arguments from proponents of DOMA was that same-sex marriage could lead to
alternative family formations and could even result in incestuous relationships and
polygamous marriage. On the other hand, the opponents of DOMA claimed that
DOMA’s definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman and other
arguments were discriminatory on the basis of sex, and equated homosexuality with
incest and polygamy.
In 2013 in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA’s
definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman. Furthermore, in
2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court struck down the section of DOMA
that allowed individual states to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in
other states. This result granted same-sex couples the constitutional right to marry.
It is important to note that in 2022, the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v.
Jackson opened up the possibility for the Court to reexamine its ruling in Obergefell in
the future.
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

TEXTO 4:
https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/what-is-doma-and-why-is-it-bad
What Is DOMA and Why Is It Bad?

By Jon W. Davidson,
Legal Director and Eden/Rushing Chair
NOVEMBER 27, 2012
Jon Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director W.

Davidson Legal Director Legal
OMA is the shortened name for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA is a federal
law that was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1996, in response
to the marriage equality litigation in Hawaii in which Lambda Legal was co-counsel. Some
members of Congress were worried that, if same-sex couples won the right to marry in
Hawaii, the federal government and other states might have to start honoring those
marriages. They passed DOMA in an effort to prevent that.
There are two main parts of the law: Section 2 of DOMA says that Congress believes
other states should be able to ignore marriages lawfully entered by same-sex couples,
and treat those legally-married couples as strangers to one another. Section 3 of DOMA
says that the federal government does not have to recognize or honor those marriages.
DOMA does not prohibit states from allowing same-sex couples to marry—it only
addresses the consequences of those marriages for purposes of other states' laws or
federal laws.
Whether or not the federal government recognizes the marriages of same-sex couples
can be very important in their lives. A General Accounting Office report looked at all
federal statutes and found 1,138 federal laws using terms like “spouse,” “husband,”
“wife,” “widow” or “widower,” that treat people differently based on whether or not the
federal government recognizes them as married. As a result of DOMA, married same-
sex couples are denied things like:
• health insurance and pension protections for federal employees' spouses

• social security benefits for widows and widowers
• support and benefits for military spouses
• joint income tax filing and exemption from federal estate taxes
• immigration protections for binational couples

Furthermore, one of the most basic things that spouses often provide for each other is
access to workplace health benefits. Many employers do provide equal access to health
benefits to the spouses of all their employees—different sex and same-sex alike. But
because the federal government does not recognize the marriages of same-sex couples,
lesbian and gay employees who sign their spouses up for health insurance must pay
income taxes on the amount of the premium as if that were part of their paycheck.
Different-sex couples whose employers provide family health care coverage can enroll
in that coverage tax-free.
Beyond all those tangible things, it's very upsetting to couples who are legally married to
have their federal government completely disregard their marriages and families. And
the message it sends to others compounds the damage—if the federal government says
same-sex couples aren’t really married, then others may believe they can be equally
disrespectful of same-sex couples’ relationships and of lesbians and gay men in general.
Lambda Legal won’t give up until DOMA is defeated once and for all. The damage it
causes for our families must end. We are waiting to learn whether the U.S. Supreme
Court will hear our case representing Karen Golinski, who is fighting for family health
insurance that equally covers her spouse. If the Supreme Court takes our case (or one of
three others), we will work together to strike this discriminatory law from the books once
and for all.
READ a Summary of the case: https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/constitutional-law/constitutional-

law-keyed-to-brest/liberty-equality-and-fundamental-rights-the-constitution-the-family-and-the-body/united-
states-v-windsor/

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TEXTO 3:

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

Material didáctico alumnos: Unidad Familia

Material didáctico alumnos: Unidad Familia

What Is DOMA and Why Is It Bad?

Jon Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director W.

• health insurance and pension protections for federal employees' spouses

Material didáctico alumnos: Unidad Familia

READ a Summary of the case: https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/constitutional-law/constitutional-

Material didáctico alumnos: Unidad Familia

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