Delaware House Administration Committee advances marriage bill to House floor

April 17, 2013

This afternoon, the House Administration Committee in Delaware voted 4-1 in favor of ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The vote moves the marriage bill to a vote before the full Delaware House of Representatives. A vote in the House is expected soon. 

The marriage bill was introduced in the House and Senate of Delaware last week, presented in a press conference where dozens of legislative leaders - including Gov. Jack Markell, Attorney General Beau Biden, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins, House Speakers Pete Schwartzkopf, and leaders from the NAACP, labor unions, and the lead bill sponsors - attended or spoke, standing in solidarity for the campaign to win marriage in the state.  

Lisa Goodman, President of Equality Delaware, the organization at the forefront of the campaign to win marriage in Delaware, sent this email to supporters today:

Earlier today, I watched as dozens of marriage supporters from across the state stood up to share why marriage matters to them. Loving couples, faith leaders, business executives, and fair-minded Delawareans asked members of the House Administration Committee to do the right thing. And a majority of the committee members listened. 

A February 2013 poll shows that a majority of Delawareans support the freedom to marry (54%), with just 37% saying they are opposed to marriage for same-sex couples.