Respect for Marriage Act of 2009
Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal provisions allowing states, territories, possessions of the United States, or Indian tribes to give no effect to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other such entity respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under that entity's laws or a right or claim arising from such relationship.
Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage 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 valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state.
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.