Title 28 of the U.S. Code § 1738C - Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof

Full text of § 1738C from Title 28 of the United States Code.

§ 1738C. Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof

(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 Notes

Prior 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.

About This Section

28 U.S.C. § 1738C is part of Title 28 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.

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