The federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is the controversial law at the focus of the national debate over the legalization of same-sex marriage. The DOMA provides for all purposes of federal law, the word “marriage” means “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and the word “spouse” refers “only to a person of the opposite-sex who is a husband or wife.” In addition, the DOMA stipulates that no state shall be required to recognize a same-sex relationship that is considered a legal marriage in another state.
