A gay marriage bill was introduced
Thursday in Delaware.
Governor Jack Markell, Attorney General
Beau Biden, House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf and Rep. George Smith
were among the supporters on hand at a press conference to introduce
the measure.
“To deny them this opportunity is to
deny them what is, perhaps, the most basic of the inalienable rights
that we as Americans cherish, the pursuit of happiness,” Markell
told the crowd.
“I'm proud to join you in making sure
that Delaware knows that the Delaware Department of Justice is
committed to correcting this injustice,” Biden said.
Schwartzkopft said that the measure
will receive a committee hearing in the House next Wednesday and that
it had already attracted 23 co-sponsors.
Smith, the bill's champion in the
House, stated the measure would protect a church's right to decide
who they will marry.
In
an interview with Reuters, Markell, a Democrat, said that while
he was confident the bill would pass the Democrat-controlled House
and Senate, “nothing is sure until it's done.”
Markell signed a civil unions bill into
law in 2011.
Other states considering legalizing
marriage for gay couples include Illinois, Minnesota and Rhode
Island. Other states, including Nevada, Oregon and Ohio, are
considering measures which would repeal constitutional amendments
excluding gay couples from marriage.