Section 1 of three · Signed Into Law
Six acts of Congress and one piece of agency guidance — bill number, chamber votes, date of signature, and the section of the code each one touched.
The Respect for Marriage Act, signed 13 December 2022, repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and required federal and interstate recognition of any marriage valid where performed — but imposed no obligation on any state to issue a licence. The piece sets out the bill's text, the Senate's 61–36 vote of 29 November 2022, the House's final 258–169 agreement on 8 December, and the religious-organisation amendment added in the Senate.
Enacted
Still on the books, in the order they took effect — 3 pieces
Signed Into Law
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed 28 October 2009, extending federal hate-crime coverage to sexual orientation, gender identity and disability — provisions that had failed to advance in Congress since 2005.
Signed Into Law
Following the Bostock decision in 2020, the EEOC and the Department of Education issued guidance and rulemaking extending Title VII and Title IX protections to gender identity — each with its own effective date, scope and subsequent litigation.
Signed Into Law
The Food and Drug Administration's May 2023 revised guidance replaced the prior 2015 deferral criteria for men who have sex with men with an individual risk-assessment model, citing the same evidentiary standard applied to all donors.
Repealed
Written, applied, and struck from the code — 2 pieces
Signed Into Law
The Defense of Marriage Act, signed 21 September 1996, had two operative sections: section 3 barred federal recognition and was struck in Windsor (2013); section 2 permitted states to withhold recognition from out-of-state marriages and was never formally struck, remaining on the books until the Respect for Marriage Act repealed it outright in 2022.
Signed Into Law
The original Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was enacted as section 654 of Title 10 in 1993; the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 was signed 22 December 2010 and took effect 20 September 2011 after certification by the Secretary of Defense.
Never Passed
Cleared one chamber and stopped — 1 piece
Signed Into Law
The Equality Act, which would have amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to name sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics across public accommodation, housing, education, credit and jury service, passed the House on 25 February 2021 and received no Senate floor vote.
