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Illinois Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill
The Illinois State Senate is continuing the drive toward marriage equality in Illinois. As reported by Reuters and published in The Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Senate approved a bill on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013, to make same-sex marriages legal. The vote in the upper chamber was as follows:
- 34 in favor
- 21 against
- 2 abstentions
The bill now goes to the House. Although the fight there is expected to be more intense, if the bill makes it to the desk of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, he has pledged to sign it. President Barack Obama has already made his opinion on same-sex marriage in his home state known. He is in support of the efforts of advocates for same-sex marriage and does not believe the 2011 approval by the state’s legislators of civil unions for same-sex couples goes far enough.
Legalization of Gay Marriage on the Horizon in Illinois?
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that two counties in Illinois could defend a 16-year-old state law that bans same-sex marriage, which gay marriage supporters hope will lead to the overturning of the law and, ultimately, the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Back in 1996, Illinois passed a law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Other states, as well as the federal government, have passed similar laws, much to criticism from the LGBT community, especially more recently as states have been moving away from such discriminatory laws. Recently, in Illinois, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against a Cook County Clerk after his office used the 1996 law to justify refusing to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages and refusing to marry gay couples.
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