[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8404 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.8404

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two


                                 An Act


 
   To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State 
             regulation of marriage, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Respect for Marriage Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies 
    the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and 
    family.
        (2) Diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage are 
    held by reasonable and sincere people based on decent and honorable 
    religious or philosophical premises. Therefore, Congress affirms 
    that such people and their diverse beliefs are due proper respect.
        (3) Millions of people, including interracial and same-sex 
    couples, have entered into marriages and have enjoyed the rights 
    and privileges associated with marriage. Couples joining in 
    marriage deserve to have the dignity, stability, and ongoing 
    protection that marriage affords to families and children.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SECTION ADDED TO TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE, BY 
SECTION 2 OF THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT.
    Section 1738C of title 28, United States Code, is repealed.
SEC. 4. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT GIVEN TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY.
    Chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by this 
Act, is further amended by inserting after section 1738B the following:
``Sec. 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect 
     thereof
    ``(a) In General.--No person acting under color of State law may 
deny--
        ``(1) full faith and credit to any public act, record, or 
    judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage 
    between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or 
    national origin of those individuals; or
        ``(2) a right or claim arising from such a marriage on the 
    basis that such marriage would not be recognized under the law of 
    that State on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national 
    origin of those individuals.
    ``(b) Enforcement by Attorney General.--The Attorney General may 
bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court 
against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and 
injunctive relief.
    ``(c) Private Right of Action.--Any person who is harmed by a 
violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate 
United States district court against the person who violated such 
subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief.
    ``(d) State Defined.--In this section, the term `State' has the 
meaning given such term under section 7 of title 1.''.
SEC. 5. MARRIAGE RECOGNITION.
    Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
``Sec. 7. Marriage
    ``(a) For the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or regulation in 
which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered 
married if that individual's marriage is between 2 individuals and 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 
between 2 individuals and 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.
    ``(c) For purposes of subsection (a), in determining whether a 
marriage is valid in a State or the place where entered into, if 
outside of any State, only the law of the jurisdiction applicable at 
the time the marriage was entered into may be considered.''.
SEC. 6. NO IMPACT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND CONSCIENCE.
    (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 
Act, shall be construed to diminish or abrogate a religious liberty or 
conscience protection otherwise available to an individual or 
organization under the Constitution of the United States or Federal 
law.
    (b) Goods or Services.--Consistent with the First Amendment to the 
Constitution, nonprofit religious organizations, including churches, 
mosques, synagogues, temples, nondenominational ministries, 
interdenominational and ecumenical organizations, mission 
organizations, faith-based social agencies, religious educational 
institutions, and nonprofit entities whose principal purpose is the 
study, practice, or advancement of religion, and any employee of such 
an organization, shall not be required to provide services, 
accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges for the 
solemnization or celebration of a marriage. Any refusal under this 
subsection to provide such services, accommodations, advantages, 
facilities, goods, or privileges shall not create any civil claim or 
cause of action.
SEC. 7. STATUTORY PROHIBITION.
    (a) No Impact on Status and Benefits Not Arising From a Marriage.--
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be 
construed to deny or alter any benefit, status, or right of an 
otherwise eligible entity or person which does not arise from a 
marriage, including tax-exempt status, tax treatment, educational 
funding, or a grant, contract, agreement, guarantee, loan, scholarship, 
license, certification, accreditation, claim, or defense.
    (b) No Federal Recognition of Polygamous Marriages.--Nothing in 
this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to 
require or authorize Federal recognition of marriages between more than 
2 individuals.
SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.
    If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of such provision to any person, entity, government, or 
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 
Act, or any amendment made thereby, or the application of such 
provision to all other persons, entities, governments, or 
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.