UPDATE: Bill changing definition of family clears Del. house

The state House has approved a bill changing the definition of family under Delaware law to make references to couples gender neutral.

The legislation cleared the House on a 34-to-five vote Tuesday, with all dissenting votes cast by Republicans.

The measure, which now goes to the Senate, eliminates “husband and wife” from among the relationships that constitute a family, inserting instead the word “spouses”.

The bill also strikes language referring to a “man and woman” cohabitating with a child, replacing it with the word “couple.”

We’re told this measure was proposed to better reflect the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. It does not have any bearing on how family courts operate beyond the language used.

While making references to adults living together gender-neutral, the legislation maintains other gender-specific language in the law, including the terms father, mother, brother, sister, son and daughter.

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