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To: HitmanLV
Doesn't the full faith & credit clause do just that - a coupled married in one state is considered married in all the other states, right?

Not necessarily. The Supreme Court and other federal courts have long held a "public policy exemption" to the full faith and credit clause. That is to say that a state is not bound by the clause to honor "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings" that are contrary to its own express public policy. In 1939, the Supreme Court held in Pacific Employers Insurance Co. v. Industrial Accident Comm'n (306 US 493):

The full faith and credit clause does not require a State to substitute for its own statute, applicable to persons and events within it, the conflicting statute of another State, even though that statute is of controlling force in the courts of the State of its enactment with respect to the same persons and events, -- at least in the absence of action by Congress prescribing the extra-state effect to be given state statutes.


The case law on the specific issue of marriage isn't quite clear, but there is plenty of precedent to argue that a state isn't bound to honor a marriage that would be illegal in that state just because it was made in another state.
70 posted on 08/18/2007 6:47:28 PM PDT by The Pack Knight (Duty, Honor, Country)
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To: The Pack Knight

The SPECIFIC cases are all pretty much with minors, NOT adults. IE two kids who ran away and came home and the parents had the right to undo the marriage as an interested party.

The case law (post interacial marriage breeding laws) for adults is silent AND the statutes show a strong presumption to legitimize children and marriages of adults.

The exceptions clause argument is legal BS.

As a lawyer, arguing such an absurdity before a judges over a long term adult marriage with children is unsustainable.

It is no differnt than states allowing recognition of common law marriage that is not recognized or created in state. For example, FL outlawed common law marriage in the early 1970’s. HOWEVER, it DOES have Full Faith and Credit for the remaining out of state common law marriage creation despite the policy against creation of common law marriage in the state.

Like LA, they created a grandfather provision.

Homosexual Marriage mandate a Federal Constitutional Amendment. If we do not do one, Ruth Bader Ginsberg will do one for you.


73 posted on 08/18/2007 7:04:46 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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