Letter
Letter from Archbishop Cordileone to Senator Ted Cruz Regarding the State Marriage Defense Act of 2015
Letter from Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Chairman, USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz Regarding the State Marriage Defense Act of 2015, February 11, 2015
"As the Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, I write in strong support of your bill, S. 435, the State Marriage Defense Act of 2015.
Various agencies of the Executive Branch have begun using a “place of celebration” rule rather than a “place of domicile” rule when determining the validity of a marriage for purposes of federal rights, benefits, and privileges.
Your bill would remedy this problem by requiring the federal government, consistent with Windsor, to defer to the marriage law of the state in which people actually reside when determining whether they are married for purposes of federal law."