The Delaware Senate today voted 12-9 to pass marriage equality legislation. The House had already passed the bill two weeks ago and the governor has promised to sign it. 

The rhetoric today was heated, as religious leaders invited to speak by the bill’s opponents condemned homosexuality for multiple hours. Conservative witnesses and senators alike repeatedly sought explanations for why people should not be free to discriminate against same-sex couples, even though such discrimination is already illegal under Delaware law. Many argued that marriage is primarily about raising children, ignoring that many same-sex families are already raising children in Delaware.

Unsurprisingly, one witness cited the debunked Regnerus study, while an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney claimed that the Ocean Grove pavilion in New Jersey was an example of “religious freedom” being violated, even though it wasn’t. A motion by opponents to table the bill failed 9-12.

11 STATES! 11 STATES! 11 STATES!