A tip from a reader at Delaware Liberal:
SB 27 by Venables has a hearing tomorrow at 1:00 PM in his committee(Small Business). This is a DE version of DOMA. It appears that the swing vote is George Bunting. Please contact his office at (302) 744-4286 and tell him to vote against this bill.
It's more than just the Delaware version of DOMA. Look at the text:
"A marriage between a man and a woman is the only legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."
That would outlaw Civil Unions. Call the Delaware State Senate today!
"A marriage between a man and a woman is the only legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."
ONLY LEGAL UNION - that would OUTLAW Civil Unions. Is that the kind of message we want to send to the world? Is that the kind of message we want to send to the business community? Remember, some of Delaware's biggest corporate employers (including DuPont, AstraZeneca, and the big banks) offer domestic partnership benefits. This bill will make our state less attractive for employers and prospective entrepeneurs.
Note: Delaware currently does not allow gay marriage or civil unions, but we have a new progressive governor and several new progressive legislators. I was really hoping this would be the year that we would legalize Civil Unions. I still am.
Remember, 55% of Americans support Civil Unions, and Delaware is more socially progressive than the average state. So it's not unreasonable to think that a wide majority of Delawareans support Civil Unions. And Delaware just elected the largest legislative majority of Democrats in recent history; Delaware's 16-5 Democratic Senate majority is larger, percentage-wise, than that of the Senates of New Jersey, Maryland, New York, or even Connecticut - in fact, it's on par with Vermont's 23-7 split.
We have the power to fight this, and we have the power to win. Call the Delaware Senate - (302) 744-4286 - and ask for George Bunting's office. Do it now. Remind Senator's Bunting's staffers that Bunting was endorsed by the Delaware Liberty Fund (equal rights advocacy group).
And when you're done, call some Liberty Fund-endorsed Republicans (Senators Coutier, Sorenson, and Connor), and some non-endorsed Democrats (Senators Marshall, DeLuca, McBride, and Cook). Don't bother with the bill's sponsorts (Senators Venables (D), Adams (D), Ennis (D), Bonini (R), and Simpson (R)).
DO THIS NOW.
Note: Yes, this bill was introduced by some pretty heinously conservative Democrats. Senator Thurman Adams (D), our state Senate President Pro-Tem, has been using a technique known as the "Desk Drawer Veto" to kill off anti-discrimination bills for years. So our 16-5 majority might only give us a one or two vote lead on this issue. If the Republican moderates don't support us, and if Senator Bunting votes in favor of this Bill, they would only need to persuade two of the non-endorsed Democrats listed above to pass the bill. And if the all the non-endorsed Democrats oppose us, then they would only need Bunting plus one endorsed Republican to beat us.