Weber Reintroduces State Marriage Defense Act

Statement

Today, Representative Randy Weber (R-TX-14) reintroduced important legislation which clarifies how the Federal Government should implement the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor. The State Marriage Defense Act (H.R. 824) will simply require federal agencies to look to a person's legal residence when determining marital status and applying federal law. Representative Weber made the following statement below:

"The 10th Amendment was established to protect state sovereignty and individual rights from being seized by the Federal Government. States are currently struggling against activist court judges overstepping their constitutional authority by legislating from the bench, and an Obama Administration attempting to counter marriage laws voted on by the American people."

"Multiple court cases defending state marriage laws are still awaiting Supreme Court review. While my hope is that the Supreme Court will uphold the right of voters to affirm the truth that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, it is imperative that Congress prevent federal agencies from undermining intact marriage laws in states like Texas."

"I drafted the "State Marriage Defense Act of 2014" to help restore the 10th Amendment, affirm the authority of states to define and regulate marriage, as well as, provide clarity to federal agencies seeking to determine who qualifies as a spouse for the purposes of federal law. By requiring that the Federal Government defer to the laws of a person's state of legal residence in determining marital status, we can protect states' constitutionally established powers from the arbitrary overreach of unelected bureaucrats."

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