Lawmakers plan to introduce the measure next month. It is anticipated that if the bill passes that civil unions in Delaware would be available only to gay and lesbian couples. Full marriage rights would remain limited to opposite-sex couples.

Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, the House Majority Leader, whose district includes Rehoboth Beach, attended the meeting. Schwartzkopf is a longtime supporter of the LGBT community and has played a key role in moving LGBT legislation in the past. He said he believes that this legislation can pass the Senate and that if it does it will sail through the House. He urged the audience to contact their lawmakers and to get their friends and allies to do so as well.

The bill will address the Delaware Defense of Marriage Act law and, in essence, repeal the current criminal penalties under Delaware law that prohibit Delawareans from marrying a same-sex spouse in another jurisdiction and would recognize such marriages as civil unions in Delaware. Current law in Delaware provides for a $100 fine and up to 30 days imprisonment for holding oneself out as a married same-sex couple.