Delaware
Delaware lawmakers seek to enshrine protections for gender-affirming care
Bill aimed at starting a discussion, unlikely to advance
Delaware residents who receive gender-affirming care and the doctors that provide it can breathe a sigh of relief if a bill aimed at protecting those who seek gender-affirming care and the doctors that provide it passes.
The bill, introduced by Rep. DeShanna Neal (D-District 13) last week, tacks on gender-affirming care protections to existing protections for those who receive or provide abortions.
“I filed House Bill 230 because we are seeing other states weaponizing their laws against the transgender community, and we should be clear that we will not let those other states’ laws prevent people from seeking gender-affirming care in Delaware,” Neal said in a statement.
The bill would prevent out-of-state people from suing a patient who received gender-affirming care in Delaware and the doctors that provided that care. It would also prevent insurance companies from penalizing doctors providing gender-affirming health care so long as they are not breaking Delaware’s laws.
Kelly Nichols, a nurse practitioner who provides gender-affirming care like hormone therapy to patients at Planned Parenthood clinics in Delaware, said the bill is extremely important given the wave of anti-transgender legislation around the country.
“It’s really important in the face of that that we have protections as providers here for patients who may be traveling here to seek care,” Nichols, the associate medical director at Planned Parenthood of Delaware, said in an interview.
The country’s major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization, all support gender-affirming health care.
Despite that support, Neal wrote in a statement that they won’t be pushing the bill forward in the House Health & Human Development committee this year, adding that the bill would start a useful discussion about transgender health care protections. They did not reply to an email asking for an interview and a House Democratic Caucus communications staffer said it was hard to nail legislators down because the legislature is in session.
Neal’s move came after opposition from Senate Republican leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker and Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn. The two senators claimed that the bill would erode parental rights in a statement, which has become a standard talking point for Republicans across the country. Two representatives for the Senate’s Republicans did not respond to an email and multiple phone calls requesting an interview with the legislators.
The senators added that children are “rarely” held liable for crimes because their brain is still developing – and so is their body – so, they claim, it makes little sense to allow them to undergo “irreversible changes” to their body.
In fact, teens rarely undergo surgery before 18. Doctors must agree that a patient, child or not, needs the physical transition care. Each surgery has different guidelines associated with it, and the major medical associations all fully support gender-affirming care and oppose bans.
Teens who receive gender-affirming care are much less likely to die by suicide, according to an observational peer-reviewed 2022 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In the cohort the study examined, youth were 73% less likely to attempt suicide.
The senators also say the legislation erodes parental rights, a claim that has become the standard talking point for Republicans across the country who see gender-transition care and children’s ability to explore their gender – especially at school – critically.
Neal said they will spend their legislative break, from July 1 into 2024, building support for the bill and educating residents about transgender healthcare.
The bill also gives the state more tools to combat legislation in other states preventing healthcare for transgender people: It allows Delaware to hear child custody cases for kids in Delaware for gender-affirming care from states that ban the care; it prevents Delaware from turning over people that broke another state’s ban; it allows anyone sued in another state for getting or helping someone receive gender-affirming care to countersue them in Delaware; and prevents trans patients’ records from being shared without their consent.
“Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with the reaction of some in Delaware already,” Neal said in the statement, “more dialogue is needed. I look forward to future discussions regarding the importance of protecting the rights of those seeking gender-affirming care in Delaware.”
Delaware
Delaware hosts LGBTQ flag raising ceremony
Gov. Matt Meyer declares June 2025 as Pride month
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer hosted a flag raising ceremony and presented a proclamation marking June 2025 as Pride month on Tuesday.
The public event took place at 11 a.m. at Legislative Hall in Dover.
“For many, many years of our state’s history, coming out here and doing what we’re doing today would have been just about unimaginable,” Meyer said at the event. “Today, this is a symbol of all of the progress that we have all made together.”
Lieutenant Gov. Kyle Evans Gay, Sens. Dan Cruce, Russ Huxtable, and Marie Pinkney, Reps. Eric Morrison, Deshanna Neal, and Claire Snyder-Hall, and LGBTQ+ Commission Chair Cora Castle and Vice Chair Vienna Cavazos were in attendance, among others.
Last week, Meyer announced the members of a new LGBTQ+ commission, which will work with the state government to improve services in areas such as employment, equality, education, mental health, social services, health, and housing.
As Pride month continues, Delaware is currently considering an amendment to codify same-sex marriage in its Constitution.
“Today is about making history and raising this flag,” said Lt. Gov. Gay at the event. “Today is about charting a new course forward with our new commission and today is about marking how far we’ve come.”
Delaware
Delaware Gov. Meyer announces LGBTQ commission
Nine members appointed to work to protect rights of residents
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer announced the members of a new LGBTQ commission on the first day of Pride month.
The members include representatives from all three counties: Chair Cora Castle, Dwayne Bensing, Noah Duckett, and Mark Purpura of New Castle County; Vice Chair Vienna Cavazos, Leslie Ledogar, and John Kane of Sussex County; and Daniel Lopez of Kent County. They will serve three-year terms without monetary compensation.
The commission was created by an executive order from previous Gov. Bethany Hall-Long in January. It will work to “strengthen ties between the government and LGBTQ+ organizations, help remove barriers to societal participation for LGBTQ+ people and improve the delivery of services to the community in Delaware in areas such as employment, equality, education, mental health, social services, health, and housing.
“The commission will advise the governor, the governor’s Cabinet, the General Assembly, and other policymakers on the effects of policies and laws on the “unique challenges and needs of LGBTQ+ people.”
Commission Chair Cora Castle is president of OmniPotential Energy Partners, executive director of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, secretary of Sierra Club Delaware, and the vice chair of the New Castle County Board of Adjustment. She said it is “extremely humbling” to be included in this group of people.
“Having the opportunity to serve and be out here and help Gov. Meyer and help everybody across the state is again just so humbling,” Castle told the Washington Blade. “I love doing work on policy, I love having the opportunity to lead and this is something where I think I can make a difference and I think that my voice matters.”
Castle said it’s important that everyone understands that the commission is here to serve all of Delaware.
Vienna Cavazos is the commission’s vice-chair and youngest member at 19. They moved to Delaware from Texas in 2022 and have a background in youth advocacy and organizing.
“I am beyond grateful to have been asked to serve not only this governor but this state,” Cavazos said. “I appreciate the work that has been done in years prior and I’m excited to do the work that we need to do to bring us back to the 21st century.”
Leslie Ledogar, board president of CAMP Rehoboth, is also a member of the commission. She said it is a “huge honor” to be included.
“I believe that the commission will be a safe space in which we can discuss those issues and make sure that, in Delaware, we are not erased,” Ledogar said. “We do still have power at the state level, notwithstanding federal actions in the opposite and very very disturbing and dangerous direction.”
The commission will begin meeting soon. A major topic will be developing policies to protect health care for LGBTQ Delawareans.
“This commission will be critical as we work to protect the rights of all Delawareans, and I want to thank each of these individuals for their willingness to serve,” Gov. Meyer wrote in a Facebook post. “Together, we will ensure Delaware remains a welcoming state and a beacon of hope to all LGBTQ+ Americans.”
Delaware
Delaware Pride Festival returns this Saturday
28th annual festival boasts activities for all in Dover
The 28th annual Delaware Pride Festival is back this weekend in the capital city of Dover.
The Saturday event will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on the Legislative Green outside of the state capitol building in Dover. The festival is hosted by drag queen Scarlet Masters.
The schedule includes a policy panel with State Representatives Eric Morrison and DeShanna Neal, a performance from the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware, and drag shows. There will also be food vendors, a kids zone, beer garden, and 21+ after party.
“Pride season is a riot, a time to advocate, and a time to remember those that came before us to take us as far as we are today, especially our trans and BIPOC siblings,” wrote Delaware Pride President Zach Workman in a letter on its website. “Always remember that when one member of our community is under attack, we come together to support them. We remember the sacrifices of our ancestors in order to fuel our push into the future. We are here, we have always been here, and we will be here for the future to come no matter how many times others try to erase us … This festival is a testament to the strength of queer Delawareans as it has stood the test of time over the last 28 iterations, becoming a lasting tradition.”
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