Delaware Politics:

SHIFT ON SOCIAL ISSUES FROM CIVIL UNIONS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

By Sen. Robert Venables' count, there were 13 reliable conservatives
in the Delaware Senate when he was elected in 1988 -- five Democrats
and eight Republicans.

Back then, he said, bills granting gay rights or legalizing marijuana
for medicinal purposes "would have never seen the light of day."

Venables, a Democrat from Laurel, knows he's part of the last vestige
of a conservative majority that has blocked liberal social issues
from advancing in the General Assembly for decades. Until a few years
ago, bills such as the one passed Thursday legalizing same-sex civil
unions would never have reached a committee's agenda, much less the
governor's desk.

That began to change in June 2009, following the death of Senate
President Pro Tem Thurman Adams, a conservative Democrat from
Bridgeville. Adams and his predecessors' infamous use of the "desk
drawer veto" often stopped progressives in their tracks.

The day after Adams' death, the Senate passed legislation granting
gays and lesbians the same legal protection from discrimination
afforded to racial minorities, seniors and the disabled.

With the civil unions bill now awaiting Gov. Jack Markell's signature
and passage of a medical-marijuana law seen as likely next month,
lawmakers say such legislative milestones reflect a change in
Delaware's demographics. As the state's population has grown, its
overall tilt has become more socially liberal, open to issues once
seen as taboo, said Sen. Liane Sorenson, R-Hockessin.

The trend also is the opposite of the national battle that is being
waged in Washington, D.C., where Republicans -- particularly
conservative Republicans -- just won a major power play by beating
back President Barack Obama and the Democrats with a government
shutdown looming.

"For some people, they've come around because their constituents have
come around," said Sorenson, whose district encompasses the
Democratic strongholds of Newark and the University of Delaware community.

Indeed, two representatives -- Democrats Brad Bennett and Earl Jaques
- -- said before Thursday's vote that they were voting for the civil
unions bill because of constituent support.

Moved Quickly

While the 2009 anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians
from being fired for their sexual orientation took a decade to pass,
the civil unions bill cleared the General Assembly less than a month
after it was introduced.

"When it comes to issues like civil unions, I think there has been a
remarkably quick sea change in the way people view gay and lesbian
Americans," said Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere.
"It's moved faster than anyone expected."

Turnover in the General Assembly from the 2002 redistricting, the
2008 Democratic takeover of the House and the state's changing
political map also contributed to more Delawareans demanding equality
for gays and lesbians, said Rep. Melanie George, D-Bear.

"As that recognition of the inequities grew and the passion among the
citizens grew for equality of all Delawareans, that's where I think
it bubbled up and the passion spilled over into the Legislature," George said.

Markell, a Democrat, said the social issue blockade was broken after
the Senate had ignored anti-discrimination legislation passed each
year by the House under Republican and Democratic control for a
nearly a decade.

"When we changed the law, the world did not fall apart," Markell said.

Bill Oberle, a Republican who served in the state House of
Representatives for 34 years, agreed. Oberle was a pioneering
flagbearer for gay-rights legislation in the Legislature. Friday, he
said he was pleased -- but not surprised -- to see that civil unions
had passed.

"Once you break through the barrier, I think all things become
easier," Oberle said. "People seem to be more accepting, particularly
when all the claims of disruption and disorder that would occur from
an initiative don't happen. ... Perhaps it's the natural evolution of
things -- a level of enlightenment that wasn't always enjoyed by the
General Assembly."

What Oberle sees as enlightenment, Sussex County Clerk of the Peace
George Parish sees as error -- and a miscalculation of what Delaware
voters value.

Not in Sussex

Parish says Delaware's values may be changing, but they're not
changing in Sussex County the same way. He was elected, he said,
after campaigning on a promise to oppose same-sex marriage. He
believes voters would say that if they had a chance to vote on the
issue in a referendum.

He credited supporters of the bill with strategic savvy -- filing it
between election cycles.

"Most people in the state of Delaware clearly believe that this civil
unions bill is nothing but a precursor to submitting a marriage
bill," he said. "You have 63 [legislators] make this significant
decision, which will change the character of Delaware."

Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP (Create a More Positive)
Rehoboth, a community center for gay men and lesbians, said the
changes are part of a generational shift.

"I'm surrounded by young adults all the time that say, 'Why are we
talking about this?' " Elkins said. "It's almost to the point of --
why do we even need a gay and lesbian community center anymore? And
then something [discriminatory] happens to them and they know."

Markell, too, said younger generations, including his own children,
are more open-minded about gay rights.

"My kids, their reaction is, 'Well, what took so long? You've got to
be kidding.' I think it's just a different world," Markell said.

Such changes mirror a similar progression nationally, said Leland
Ware, holder of the Louis L. Redding Chair and a professor who
studies law and public policy at the University of Delaware.

"It's been sort of a national turn in attitudes," Ware said. "I think
this is simply societal change in the way equality is perceived. But
it took a long time. It seems to have come together in the last two,
three, four years. You can see it in the Supreme Court cases. After
years of using anti-gay rhetoric in elections, there is a shift."

Not Out of Character

But it's not a dramatic shift in Delaware, he said.

"The only reason Delaware is seen as conservative is because it's in
the Northeast Corridor with New York, New Jersey, southeast
Pennsylvania, and Maryland," Ware said. "Compared to those states,
Delaware looks more conservative. ... But there's a mix of attitudes
here, some quite progressive."

Thomas Nicastro, a Catholic who spoke against civil unions in
Legislative Hall, said the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington should have
been more engaged in the debate.

Bishop W. Francis Malooly declined to comment before the vote, but
issued a brief statement Friday.

"The Church has taught throughout history that marriage is the union
of one man and one woman," the statement said. "It is my hope that
the passage of S.B. 30 will not lead to the eventual undermining of
that here in Delaware. Marriage exists to link a man and a woman
together for the sake of children and society."

Nicastro saw that as too little, too late. He said he wouldn't be
surprised if Markell signed the bill on Good Friday -- "when truth
will be crucified."

"The apathy has grown to zenith here," he said. "And too many people
are willing to just abdicate their responsibility with regard to government."

Sen. David Sokola, the sponsor of the civil unions bill, and Blevins
both credited Equality Delaware for their coordinated lobbying effort
to get the bill passed.

The General Assembly adjourned Thursday for a two-week spring break.
When lawmakers return, the House will consider decriminalizing
marijuana to allow chronically ill and suffering Delawareans to
purchase and smoke the drug for medicinal purposes.

"I would be surprised if that didn't pass the House with large
numbers," said Speaker Robert Gilligan, D-Sherwood Park. "That would
not have happened six, eight, 10 years ago."

The Senate passed the bill 18-3.

Venables voted "yes" with the majority, convinced that marijuana
helped a friend of his regain weight lost to a chronic illness. But
if a medical-marijuana bill had come up 20 years ago, Venables said,
he likely would have fought to kill the legislation.

"That would have not even come out of committee," Venables said.

The three "no" votes were cast by conservative Republican Sens. Colin
Bonini of Dover South, David Lawson of Marydel and Joseph Booth of Georgetown.

Booth said the Democrats who hold massive majorities in the House and
Senate are tackling the social issues this year to appease their
liberal base before all 62 members of the General Assembly stand for
re-election in 2012.

"That's the way it is," Booth said. "They're in charge and they have
constituencies that they have to nurture before the big election."