Originally Posted by W.J. Wilczek

Traditionally, the right of marriage has been strictly the subject of state law. Recently, however, the Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); which is a federal law affecting the applicability of the “Full Faith and Credit Clause” under Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution to state marriage laws. The act provides: “No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.” 28 U.S.C. § 1738c. In order for same-sex marriage laws to be given extraterritorial effect, DOMA would have to be repealed by the Congress or declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. See, Andrew Koppelman, Dumb and DOMA: Why the Defense of Marriage Act is Unconstitutional, 83 Iowa L. Rev. 1 (1997); Larry Kramer, Same-Sex Marriage, Conflict of Laws, and the Unconstitutional Public Policy Exception, 106 Yale L.J. 1965 (1997); Mark Strasser, Legally Wed: Same-Sex Marriage and the Constitution (Cornell Univ. Press 1997). Thus far, challenges to the validity of DOMA have not been successful. See, e.g. ; In re Kandu, 315 B.R. 123 (Bankr. W.D.Wash 2004). However, as more states enact laws sanctioning same-sex marriages, there will be more cases which will raise the issue of it as a “fundamental right” that is entitled to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment; but DOMA is the “back door” to getting the Supreme Court to decide the issue.