If Massachusetts (or any other state) passes a law saying that same-sex couples can marry, do all other 49 states have to give full faith and credit to that law?
The full faith and credit clause of the Constitution states: “Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.” This seemingly broad rule, however, is not without its exceptions. Importantly, a state may not have to give full faith and credit to a law that violates its “public policy.” That, of course, raises the question of what a particular state’s public policy is.
