Respect for Marriage Act

The Respect for Marriage Act is a federal law signed by President Joe Biden on December 13, 2022, after bipartisan votes in Congress. It repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which had barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The law requires the federal government to recognize any marriage that was valid where it took place, and it requires every state to honor same-sex and interracial marriages performed in other states. Congress passed it partly out of concern that the Supreme Court might overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that established a nationwide right to marry. The Act does not force a state to issue its own marriage licenses, but it guarantees federal recognition and cross-state recognition if Obergefell were ever reversed.