State Marriage Defense Act

The State Marriage Defense Act (H.R. 3829, S. 2024 in the 113th Congress, H.R. 824, S. 435 in the 114th Congress) was a proposed law introduced by Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah. The legislation would have defined the terms "spouse" and "marriage" when used in federal laws to always follow the definition used in the particular state where the law is applied.