DOVER, Del. - A proposed amendment to the Delaware Constitution aimed at protecting the right to marry failed to advance in the Delaware House on Wednesday.
Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 100 would have added a new section to Article I of the Delaware Constitution establishing that the right to marry is a fundamental right that cannot be denied or limited based on gender or other protected characteristics under Delaware's equal protection clause. It also stated that all legally valid marriages in Delaware must be treated equally under state law and clarified that the provision would not infringe on religious freedom protections.
Sponsors said the amendment would provide constitutional protections for marriage equality in Delaware, while also ensuring equal treatment for married couples and their children under state law. The measure was introduced earlier in June as the first step in a constitutional amendment process, which would have required approval by two consecutive General Assemblies, with passage occurring before and after a general election.
On June 24, the bill received 24 votes in favor, three votes against, and 14 lawmakers not voting in the Delaware House of Representatives. Because the measure sought to amend the Delaware Constitution, it required a two-thirds majority of all elected House members to pass.
The voting results were widely split along partisan lines with some exceptions. While the majority of abstentions and votes against came from House Republicans, Democratic Rep. Josue Ortega also cast a vote against while Democratic Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton did not vote.
The proposal had previously cleared the Delaware Senate on June 10.
The bill's failure in the House means the proposed constitutional amendment will not move forward during the current legislative session and will return to the Senate.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings excoriated the bill’s failure in the House on Wednesday, calling it an “appalling abdication.”
“For years now, Delaware's General Assembly has repeatedly moved the needle forward on LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights writ large; in recent years that movement has been unflinching,” Jennings said. “That record makes it all the more shocking and upsetting that the Delaware House of Representatives failed to advance a basic, core tenant of equality—cementing in our constitution the right to same-sex and interracial marriage and guaranteeing those rights regardless of political majority or the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings. We have been taught more than once that policy once considered “settled law” is anything but, and we must operate under that paradigm.”
WBOC has reached out to Rep. Shupe (R), who voted against the measure, for comment. This article will be updated.
