28 U.S.C. § 1738C

Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof

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(a)In General.—No person acting under color of State law may deny—(1) full faith and credit to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals; or(2) a right or claim arising from such a marriage on the basis that such marriage would not be recognized under the law of that State on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.(b)Enforcement by Attorney General.—The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who violates subsection (a) for declaratory and injunctive relief.(c)Private Right of Action.—Any person who is harmed by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against the person who violated such subsection for declaratory and injunctive relief.(d)State Defined.—In this section, the term “State” has the meaning given such term under section 7 of title 1.(Added Pub. L. 117–228, § 4, Dec. 13, 2022, 136 Stat. 2305.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

A prior section 1738C, added Pub. L. 104–199, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1996, 110 Stat. 2419, related to effect not required to be given to certain acts, records, and proceedings of another jurisdiction regarding marriage between persons of the same sex, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 117–228, § 3, Dec. 13, 2022, 136 Stat. 2305.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 78 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1995–2026 · leading case: Windsor v. United States, 699 F.3d 169 (2d Cir. 2012).
Windsor v. United States, 699 F.3d 169 (2d Cir. 2012). · cites it 4× “21 28 U.S.C. § 1738C. This provision expresses Congress’s desire to prevent a situation where one 22 state would be forced to recognize same-sex marriages performed and recognized in a different 23 state.”
Chambers v. Ormiston, 935 A.2d 956 (R.I. 2007). · cites it 6× “We also directed the certifying justice of the Family Court, based on his findings of fact, to determine: (1) whether or not the case presented an actual case or controversy; (2) whether or not the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution was relevant to…”
United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). · cites it 2× “See 28 U. S. C. §1738C. Section 3 is at issue here.”
In re Marriage of LaFleur & Pyfer, 2021 CO 3 (Colo. 2021). “In the years that followed, most states adopted statutes and state constitutional amendments both prohibiting same-sex marriage within state borders and barring recognition of same-sex marriages entered elsewhere.”
Andersen v. King Cnty., 138 P.3d 963 (Wash. 2006). · cites it 4× “010 to describe marriage as a civil contract that is valid only if "between a male and a female" and to provide in RCW 26.04.020(1)(c) that a marriage contract is prohibited for couples "other than a male and a female.”
Godfrey v. Spano, 920 N.E.2d 328 (NY 2009). · cites it 2× “[2] The federal Defense of Marriage Act provides, in effect, that the Full Faith and Credit Clause will not operate to require recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states ( see 28 USC § 1738C). DOMA does not in any way diminish the principles of comity or the…”
Texas v. United States, 95 F. Supp. 3d 965 (N.D. Tex. 2015). · cites it 8× “Section 2 of DOMA, 28 U.S.C. § 1738C (“Full Faith and Credit Statute”), was not at issue in Windsor and, to date, it remains in effect.”
Smelt v. Cnty. of Orange, 447 F.3d 673 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 11× “2419 (1996) (codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1738C, 1 U.S.C. § 7 ). SMELT v.”
In re the Marriage of Dean LAFLEUR v. Timothy PYFER, 479 P.3d 869 (Colo. 2021). “2d 808 ( 2013 ) , and allowed states to refuse to give full faith and credit to same-sex marriages lawfully entered in other states, 28 U.S.C. § 1738C , rendered obsolete by Obergefell , 576 U.”
in Re State of Texas, 466 S.W.3d 783 (Tex. 2015). · cites it 2× “28 U.S.C. § 1738C; see also Tex. Fam. Code § 6.”
Kitchen v. Herbert, 755 F.3d 1193 (10th Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “28 U.S.C. § 1738C. Windsor protected valid same-gender, state law marriages based on federalism concerns, as well as Fifth Amendment due process and implied equal protection concerns.”
Hernandez v. Robles, 855 N.E.2d 1 (NY 2006). · cites it 2× “This is how marriage is defined in the federal Defense of Marriage Act (Pub L 104-199, 110 US Stat 2419; see 1 USC § 7 ), which provides that no state "shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State .”
— 28 U.S.C. § 1738C(a) — 1 case
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