Texas Rep. Randy Weber, a Republican,
has proposed a bill which seeks to prohibit federal recognition of
the marriages of gay couples who live in states where such unions are
not allowed.
The federal government started
recognizing the legal marriages of gay couples regardless of where
they live after the Supreme Court in June ruled invalid a key portion
of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which prohibited federal
agencies from recognizing such unions.
Weber's State Marriage Defense Act of
2014 would limit the federal government to recognizing the marriages
of gay couples who live in one of the 17 states where gay couples are
allowed to marry.
“My bill, H.R. 3829, basically says
that the federal agencies has [sic] to look to the state law of
domicile, where the people live, and apply that state's laws,”
Weber said during an appearance on FRC's
Washington
Watch. “In other words, you can't get married in
Massachusetts … or any other state and then come in to Texas and
claim that you want benefits under same-sex marriages through federal
agencies. You have to recognize Texas' definition of marriage.”
Weber incorrectly added that the 11
states (it's 17) that have legalized gay nuptials “don't get to
impose their will on the rest of us.”
After speaking to Weber on his radio
show, FRC President Tony Perkins strongly endorsed the congressman's
legislation in a statement.
“Family Research Council strongly
supported the Defense of Marriage Act, and disagreed with the Court's
decision in Windsor,” Perkins said. “However, if the
federal government is required to defer to state determinations of
which of their residents are 'married,' it must defer to those
determinations in all fifty states – not just those that have
redefined marriage.”