United States · Bill · S
S. 598 (112th)
Respect for Marriage Act of 2011
Introduced
16 March 2011
Last action
10 November 2011 · Reported
Status
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 228.
Sponsors
Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT], Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI-2], Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA-6], Christopher Coons, Richard Durbin, Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN], Sen. Inouye, Daniel K. [D-HI], Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA], Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ], Patty Murray, Jeff Merkley, Charles Schumer, Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO], Sheldon Whitehouse, Ron Wyden, Maria Cantwell, Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI], Rep. Harkin, Tom [D-IA-5], Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH], Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM], Rep. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD-3], Michael Bennet, Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM], Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD], Sen. Levin, Carl [D-MI], Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ], John Reed
Subjects
Defence
Source updated
10 August 2026
Summary
Respect for Marriage Act of 2011 - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
16 March 2011
Introduced
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Source: IntroReferral
16 March 2011
Introduced
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1753-1754)
Source: IntroReferral
16 March 2011
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
Source: IntroReferral
20 July 2011
Committee
Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-120.
Source: Committee
10 November 2011
Calendars
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 228.
Source: Calendars
10 November 2011
Reported
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy without amendment. Without written report.
Source: Committee
10 November 2011
Reported
Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Source: Committee
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
- Reported to Senate · 10 November 2011 · Official file
- Introduced in Senate · 16 March 2011 · Official file
Documents
6 official files
Reported to Senate (text)
Reported to Senate · EN · 10 November 2011
Reported to Senate (PDF)
Reported to Senate · EN · 10 November 2011
Reported to Senate without amendment
summary · EN · 10 November 2011
Introduced in Senate (text)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 16 March 2011
Introduced in Senate (PDF)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 16 March 2011
Introduced in Senate
summary · EN · 16 March 2011
Sponsors
- Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] · D · Sponsor
- Kirsten Gillibrand · D · Sponsor
- Rep. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI-2] · D · Sponsor
- Richard Blumenthal · D · Sponsor
- Rep. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA-6] · D · Sponsor
- Christopher Coons · D · Sponsor
- Richard Durbin · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN] · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Inouye, Daniel K. [D-HI] · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · D · Sponsor
- Patty Murray · D · Sponsor
- Jeff Merkley · D · Sponsor
- Charles Schumer · D · Sponsor
- Jeanne Shaheen · D · Sponsor
- Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO] · D · Sponsor
- Sheldon Whitehouse · D · Sponsor
- Ron Wyden · D · Sponsor
- Maria Cantwell · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Harkin, Tom [D-IA-5] · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD-3] · D · Cosponsor
- Michael Bennet · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · D · Cosponsor
- Bernie Sanders · I · Cosponsor
- Amy Klobuchar · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD] · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Levin, Carl [D-MI] · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · D · Cosponsor
- John Reed · D · Cosponsor
- · ssju00 · Standing
Related records
- related to → Respect for Marriage Act
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/senate-bill/598
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/s/598
- us · 112-s-598 · source updated 10 August 2026