A Delaware Senate panel will consider a
proposed gay marriage bill 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 6-member Senate Executive
Committee's hearing on House Bill 75 will begin at 2:30PM. The only
item on the agenda is the marriage bill.
The committee is chaired by Senate
President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins, a Democrat and a supporter of
marriage equality.
“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,” Blevins recently told gay weekly the
Washington
Blade.
The measure is expected to clear the
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.
Delaware currently recognizes gay and
lesbian couples with civil unions.
(Related: First
gay couples tie the knot in Colorado as civil unions law takes
effect.)