Delaware State Senator Karen Peterson came out publicly on the Senate floor this week just before the vote that approved same-sex marriage.
And she said up to the last minute she wasn’t sure that she would do it.
Peterson told the Wilmington News Journalthat family friends and colleague knew she was a lesbian but thought she would only do so if it added something to the debate.
Near the end of that debate she said that she heard “misguided comments” by opponent and decided to speak up.
Not long after she spoke the Senate approved same sex marriage on a vote of 12-to-9 and Governor Jack Markell signed the legislation into law later that evening.
After Peterson came out she said she had become a bit of a minor celebrity with emails from across the county and calls from news outlets such as the Washington Post, MSNBC and the Huffington Post.
Peterson has served in the Senate since 2002.
