Same-sex marriage in Delaware

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Delaware since July 1, 2013. Governor Jack Markell signed legislation on May 7, 2013, just hours after its passage in the Delaware House of Representatives and Senate. Though Rhode Island enacted legislation legalizing same-sex marriage before Delaware, on July 1, Delaware became the eleventh state, and twelfth US jurisdiction, to allow same-sex couples to marry, preceding Minnesota and Rhode Island by one month.

Delaware previously extended recognition to same-sex relationships in the form of civil unions, which grant same-sex couples the "rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities" of married persons. Civil unions became available in Delaware on January 1, 2012, following the enactment of legislation signed by Governor Markell on May 11, 2011.

In March 2011, state Sens. David P. Sokola and Melanie George introduced a bill to allow civil unions in Delaware. It passed the Senate Administrative Services Committee on March 31, the full Senate 13-6 on April 7, 2011, and the House 26-15 on April 14. Markell signed the bill into law on May 11, 2011, and it took effect on January 1, 2012. At the signing, he said:

Tonight, with the signing of this law, we say to any Delawarean, regardless of sexual orientation, if you have committed yourself to somebody, and you've made that pledge to spend your life together in partnership, your love is equally valid and deserving, your family is now equal under the law.

Delaware civil unions provided the "rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities" of marriage under a different name.

In 2012, Delaware issued approximately 565 civil union licenses, with 250 of those being in Sussex County, 235 in New Castle County, and 80 in Kent County.

As of July 1, 2013, civil unions are no longer offered to any couple and existing civil unions were converted into marriages by July 1, 2014.

In March 2012, Governor Markell said he thought that the legalization of same-sex marriage in Delaware was "inevitable" and would be passed "probably within the next few years". In September 2012, Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf, who became House Speaker in January 2013, said he expected the General Assembly to vote on same-sex marriage in 2013 and that he would support it, but was uncertain of the legislation's prospects. On February 1, 2013, in anticipation of legislative activity, Francis Malooly, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Wilmington, authored a letter to parishioners that said marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman that must be "cherished and defended".

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Wikipedia