Delaware lawmakers pass same-sex marriage bill after initial failure in the House

Amendment passes after first vote fails

The legislation needed 28 of the 41 House members to vote yes, including one Republican. However, only 24 members voted in favor of the bill in the first House vote last month, with one Democrat voting no and one not voting. Most House Republicans did not vote. Bill sponsor state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach, initially voted yes and then changed her vote to ‘no’ so it could be reconsidered.

When the bill was brought up again on June 30, 28 state representatives voted yes and 12 voted no.

State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, said she did not vote the first time the bill was considered in the House because of concerns that not everyone’s marriages are recognized in Delaware. The lawmaker unsuccessfully pushed legislation last year aimed at recognizing first-cousin marriages on behalf of a constituent.

Wilson-Anton publicly apologized to people she said had reached out to her with hurt feelings over not voting and pledged to vote yes if it was brought up again. However, she has also called out the “racist and Islamophobic hate” directed toward her by people online.

“It’s been stormy, it’s been lonely and it’s been difficult, and I do it anyway, because it’s the right thing to do,” she said. “I think we really need to do a lot of self-reflection over this break before we come back next year and have honest discussions about how productive it is to snipe at each other over social media instead of taking issues directly to each other and our constituents in a more productive way.”

State Rep. Josué Ortega, D-West Wilmington, changed his vote from no to yes, saying that while his Catholic faith will always guide him, he needed to represent the wants of his constituents.

Most Republicans voted no, noting that gay marriage is already legal in Delaware. But Snyder-Hall said those protections can be removed with a simple majority vote in a way that adding it into the state’s constitution cannot.

“There’s a movement going to try to claw back protections that have been established in law for the LGBTQ+ community, and also racial equality,” she said. “Our constitution reflects our values and in Delaware we want to make sure that everybody knows that.”

Hockessin state Rep. Mike Smith was the lone Republican who voted to approve the measure. He said many of his constituents were on both sides of the issue.

“I did hear from a lot of members of my district [that] life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness directly affects them in this issue,” he said. “So you’ll be getting my support today.”

Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote in each chamber in consecutive legislative sessions. The legislation just completed its first leg. The second leg would have to be approved by the end of June 2028.