Delaware May Be Next To Legalize Gay Marriage

Bouquets for everybody!

Last year, as more states legalized gay marriage legislatively or at the polls, those of us armed with maps had a question: What about Delaware? The First State, of which I am a son, is a moderate place that's swung Democratic as the GOP has swung to the right. Starting with the 2008 Obama-Biden wave, it's also been completely controlled by Democrats. The current state house has a 26-15 Democratic majority; the current state senate is split 13-8 for the Democrats. Gov. Jack Markell has supported gay marriage for years. And I already mentioned Joe Biden.

Well, the gay marriage push starts today. This afternoon, most of the state's leadership—governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state senate president, speaker of the house—will gather in Wilmington to announce legislation that would legalize gay marriage. All they need to do is alter Delaware's statute on marriage, which prohibits unions between "people of the same gender." (Delaware never got on board with the "traditional marriage amendment" party.)