The Defense Of Marriage Act - 1271 Words

Before the Constitutional Convention in 1787, relations between the States were not ideal. To reduce tensions, the new Constitution contained a provision, the Full Faith and Credit Clause, which granted each state authority over public Acts, records and judicial proceedings. In 1790, Congress acted to put the provision into effect by enacting the Full Faith and Credit Statute. Revised most recently in 1948, it provides, in part, that properly authenticated shall have the same full faith and credit in every court within the United States. In 1996, to help defend one-man, one-woman marriage from efforts to redefine it, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed - and President Bill Clinton signed - the Defense of Marriage Act. This†¦show more content†¦DOMA was intended to defend traditional marriage at the federal and state levels. Consequently, DOMA enabled states—even in the face of claims made pursuant to the full faith and credit clause (discussed below)—to dec line to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Furthermore, DOMA defined marriage traditionally in federal law. As everything in life has its effects, DOMA had a negative affect, which appeared over time. The good side was that this law was applied to the majority and gave strength to a lot of people but since there was a minority, which doesn’t agree with DOMA, it turned negative. DOMA caused many problems to these minority people, causing many spouses to not get the same rights and claims as others. For example, as a same-sex marriage spouse you couldn’t claim your spouse as anything because according to the state law it’s not a legal marriage. Others faced problems such as they couldn’t even visit their spouse or help in any health issues because of the requirement that they be immediate family, and they were not recognized as spouses. DOMA law in section 2 said, â€Å"No state has an obligation to recognize marriages that