Delaware votes for gay rights | News Story on 365gay.com

Delaware votes for gay rights | News Story on 365gay.com

Two gay victories swept Delaware Thursday, when the state Senate defeated a constitutional ban on gay marriage and the state House passed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Delaware already has a law limiting marriage to a man and a woman, and Senators expressed concern that the constitutional ban was unneccessary.

“I believe that the constitution … should be not a place where rights are restricted but where there is a positive affirmation of the rights of all of the people of Delaware,” Sen. Brian Bushweller (D) told DelawareOnline.

The anti-discrimination bill, which prohibits prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, public works contracting, public accommodations and insurance, has passed the House three times before, always dying in the Senate in committee.

Because of changes in procedural rules, however, activists are hopeful that this time, the bill will make it to a vote on the Senate floor