A Delaware Senate panel is expected to
consider a proposed gay marriage bill next week.
The Senate Executive Committee will
hold a hearing on House Bill 75 on Wednesday – a week to the day
after the House approved the measure with a 23-18 vote.
(Related: Delaware
House approves gay marriage bill.)
“The marriage equality bill filed
today will allow loving and committed same-sex couples the freedom to
marry the person they love just like the rest of us,” Senate
President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins, a Democrat, is quoted as
saying by gay weekly the Washington
Blade. “We say to gay and lesbian couples that their love
and their families are worthy of the same dignity and respect as all
our families.”
The measure is expected to clear the
6-member committee but its fate in the Senate remains less certain.
According to a vote count conducted by progressive blog Think
Progress, supporters remain 2 votes short of passage in the
Senate. However, Lisa Goodman, president of Equality Delaware, said
she remains confident the bill will become law.
“We believe we will have the votes to
pass marriage equality in the Senate,” she said.