Anti-Religious Discrimination Bill Passes House

The House unanimously passed Senate Bill 72 which ‘clarifies that discrimination against any person because of religion is illegal under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Act. It passed the Senate unanimously earlier.

The Delaware Equal Accommodations Act already bans discrimination based upon “creed,” and it has always been understood that the word “creed” covers religious belief. Indeed, that understanding was addressed and confirmed by the Delaware Superior Court in Boscov’s Dep’t Store v. Jackson, 2007 Del. Super. LEXIS 37. Senate Bill 72 adds the term “religion” to the list of prohibited bases for discrimination in the Delaware Equal Accommodations Act and defines “religion” to include all aspects of religious observance and practice, not just belief.

In other words, a Muslim woman wearing a burka as part of her religious observance and practice, or a Jewish person wearing a yarmulke.

This Act also updates the forms of communication covered by the Delaware Equal Accommodations Act so the list includes notices or advertisements on television or the Internet.

Senate Bill 72 Sponsors	Yes Vote	No Vote
S.McBride, Mantzavinos, Sturgeon, Ennis, Gay, Hansen, Lockman, Paradee, Sokola, Townsend, Walsh	Passed Senate 21-0. Bonini, Brown, Ennis. Gay, Hansen, Hocker, Lawson, Lockman, Lopez, Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pettyjohn, Pinkney, Poore, Richardson, S. McBride, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend, Walsh, Wilson	None
Heffernan, Wilson Anton, Baumbach, Brady, K.Johnson, Lambert, Mitchell, Morrison, Osienski	Passed House 41-0. Baumbach Bennett Bentz Bolden Brady Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Heffernan K.Johnson K.Williams Kowalko Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Mitchell Morrison Osienski S.Moore Schwartzkopf Wilson-Anton  Briggs King Collins D.Short Dukes Gray Hensley M.Smith Morris Postles Ramone Shupe Smyk Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick	None
Current Status —	Sent to Governor.