Defense of Marriage Act

Research Paper # 96024

Gender and Sexuality > Sexual Politics
Law > Family

A statutory history of the Defense of Marriage Act

1,355 words () | 17 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a history and background of the Defense of Marriage Act in the United States. The paper describes how the United States has undergone many changes in the last century and how the institution of marriage has been affected. It explores some of the events and cases leading up to the passage of the Act and then goes on to describe the Act's subsequent and legal history. The paper discusses specific cases to explain points made.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Section One: Legislative History
Section Two: Subsequent History
Section Three: Legal History

From the Paper:

"Marriage has long been held to be very important in our society. Supreme Court Justice Douglas said that "Marriage is the coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring and intimate to the degree of being sacred. It is an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in our prior decisions." The United States has undergone many changes in the last century and the institution of marriage has not gone unchanged."

Sample of Sources Used:

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 486, 85 S. Ct. 1678, 1682, 14 L. Ed. 2d 510 (1965) (Douglas, J.).
Baehr v. Lewin, 74 Haw. 645, 852 P.2d 44 (1993)
Baker v. State, 170 Vt. 194, 744 A.2d 864, 81 A.L.R.5th 627 (1999). Lewis v. Harris, 188 N.J. 415, 908 A.2d 196 (2006). California Family Code 297 (1998). Maine P.L. 2003, c. 672. Connecticut General Statutes, Section 5-278(b). Hawaii Reciprocal Beneficiary Act 1997. HB 118.
Bishop v. Oklahoma ex rel. Edmondson, 447 F.Supp.2d 1239, 65 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1206 (2006).
Brause v. Alaska, 21 P.3d 357 (2001).