In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States declared the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, striking down the definition of marriage made explicit in Section 3 of the act.

DOMA was enacted in 1996, defining the terms “marriage” and “spouse” such that “the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.”