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S 1236 113th Congress Senate

Respect for Marriage Act

Official title: A bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State regulation of marriage.

Introduced: June 26, 2013 See on congress.gov
Law Intergovernmental relationsJudicial procedure and administrationMarriage and family statusSex, gender, sexual orientation discriminationState and local government operations
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 26, 2013
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 26, 2013
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5273)
Jun 26, 2013
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action June 26, 2013

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Respect for Marriage Act - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage.

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. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1236: Respect for Marriage Act. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1236/
MLA
"S. 1236: Respect for Marriage Act." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1236/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1236, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1236/.
Markdown link
[S. 1236: Respect for Marriage Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-1236/)
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