Same-sex marriage in Delaware has been legally recognized since July 1, 2013. Governor

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

signed legislation legalizing

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

on May 7, 2013, just hours after its passage in the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

and Senate. Though

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

enacted legislation legalizing same-sex marriage before Delaware, on July 1,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

became the eleventh

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

, and twelfth U.S. jurisdiction, to allow same-sex couples to marry, preceding

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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

Civil unions

In March 2011, senators David Sokola and Melanie George Smith introduced a bill to allow

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s to the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisl ...

. It passed the Senate Administrative Services Committee on March 31, and the full Senate by a vote of 13–6 on April 7, 2011. It passed the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in a 26–15 vote on April 14. Governor

signed the bill into law on May 11, 2011, and it took effect on January 1, 2012. At the signing, he said: Delaware civil unions provided the "rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities" of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

under a different name. Approximately 565 civil union licenses were issued in 2012, with 250 of these being issued in Sussex County, 235 in

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

, 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.

Same-sex marriage

In March 2012, Governor Jack Markell said he thought that the legalization of

in Delaware was "inevitable" and would be passed "probably within the next few years". In September 2012, Representative

Peter Schwartzkopf Peter C. Schwartzkopf (born January 15, 1955) is an American politician and the Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented the 14th district since 2002. His district covers Rehoboth B ...

, who became House Speaker in January 2013, said he expected the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

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 stating that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman that must be "cherished and defended". In April 2013, a bill was introduced to legalize same-sex marriage while eliminating civil unions and converting them to marriages by July 2014 if not dissolved earlier. Malooly wrote a letter to legislators on April 15 that said that marriage is not "just about love and commitment between two people" as many think but "it is also about the unique expression of love that only and man and woman as husband and wife can give to each other", that marriage is not a "label" but a "communion" that "is impossible without the sexual difference". The Delaware House Administration Committee advanced the bill to the full House on April 18. Governor Markell said he would sign it if it passed. It passed the House on April 23 on a 23–18 vote. The Senate Executive Committee approved the legislation on May 1, and it passed the Senate on May 7 on a 12–9 vote. Markell signed the bill outside the Assembly building within an hour of the vote. The legislation was titled ''An act to amend Title 13 of the Delaware code relating to domestic relations to provide for same-gender civil marriage and to convert existing civil unions to civil marriages''. The bill added the following section to the state's marriage statute: The legislation also gave Delaware courts authority over

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

proceedings in the case of a same-sex couple married in Delaware who resided in a state that would not grant them a divorce because it did not recognize their marriage. Since June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage is legal throughout the United States, rendering this provision moot. State Senator Karen Peterson came out as lesbian during the debate on May 7, becoming the state's first-ever openly LGBT legislator. When the statute took effect on July 1, Peterson and her partner were the first same-sex couple to legally convert their civil union into a marriage. The first same-sex couple to marry were Joseph Daigle and Dan Cole, in a semi-public ceremony attended by hundreds and officiated by

Clerk of the Peace A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the quarter sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace. Histo ...

Ken Boulden on July 1, 2013 in the

Marian Cruger Coffin Marian Cruger Coffin (September 16, 1876 – February 2, 1957) was an American landscape architect who became famous for designing numerous gardens for members of the East Coast elite. As a child, she received almost no formal education but wa ...

Gardens at Gibraltar Mansion in Wilmington. Opening remarks for the first marriage were provided by Attorney General

Beau Biden Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III (February 3, 1969 – May 30, 2015) was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. The oldest child of current U.S. president Joe Bi ...

, an invocation was provided by Rector of the Trinity Episcopal Church Pat Downing, and a reading was performed by poet Devon Miller-Duggan. Daigle and Cole were activists heavily involved in the process of passage, and Cole worked on writing and implementing the law.

Subsequent developments

A bill removing "

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

" and "lesbianism" from the definition of misconduct which may be used as grounds for a divorce was introduced to the Delaware General Assembly on March 13, 2016. The bill passed the House on May 10 in a 36–4 vote, an the Senate on June 9 in a unanimous 21–0 vote. Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law on June 28.

Marriage statistics

2,092

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictio ...

s were issued to same-sex couples from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. In Sussex County and Kent County, around 37% and 10% of marriage licenses were granted to same-sex couples, respectively. Same-sex marriages made up around 26% of all marriages statewide. The high percentage is mostly attributed to the fact that same-sex marriages could not be legally performed in the neighbouring states of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Delaware , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 66% , align=center, 32% , align=center, 2% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 192 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 60% , align=center, 29% , align=center, 11% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 219 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 58% , align=center, 27% , align=center, 15% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 302 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 62% , align=center, 25% , align=center, 12% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 239 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 66% , align=center, 25% , align=center, 8% , - , align
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 471 likely voters , align=center, ± 5.2% , align=center, 54% , align=center, 31% , align=center, 15% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 2, 2014–January 4, 2015
, align=center, 157 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 57% , align=center, 31% , align=center, 11% , -
Global Strategy Group
, align=center, February 12–14, 2014 , align=center, 603 likely voters , align=center, ± 4% , align=center, 54% , align=center, 37% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, January 26–28, 2011 , align=center, 605 registered voters , align=center, ± 4% , align=center, ''48%'' , align=center, 47% , align=center, 5% , -

References

{{Same-sex marriage in the United States 2013 in LGBT history