Battle Over Marriage Rages In Illinois

by Dave Jolly 


In the November elections, the voters in four states voted to approve same-sex marriages.  Illinois was not one of them.  In the state of Illinois, it is still against the law for same-sex partners to legally marry.
However, as in many other states, that law is being challenged by gay rights activists.
State lawmakers in Illinois are set to work on a bill later this week that would legalize same-sex marriage.  They are trying to force the bill through before the new legislators are sworn in on Jan. 9.  The bill is getting support from business and political leaders including President Obama who sent a letter in support of the bill to the state legislators.  White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times:

“While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect.  As he has said, his personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel also has endorsed the measure.  In the business community, leaders of Google, Morningstar, Private Bancorp Inc. and Groupon have also publicly endorsed the legalization of same-sex marriage.  Another heavy hitter to support the bill is Fred Eychaner, a Chicago media mogul who donated $14 million to Democrats in last year’s elections.  Laura Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and publicly professed lesbian is also supporting the bill (another reason why I don’t root for the Cubs).

Traditional marriage supporters are not giving up without a fight either.  David Smith, Executive Director of Illinois Family Institute pointed out that only about 250 of the thousands of priests, ministers and rabbis have endorsed same-sex marriage, indicating that the vast majority of them do not favor it.  He commented about the bill, saying:

“I think it’s a little bit of an overreach. In fact, I’ve challenged the sponsor of the bill.  If he’s so confident that the people of Illinois want same-sex marriage, then why doesn’t he put it on the ballot and let the people decide?”
“The general public in Illinois rejects the idea of redefining God’s institution of marriage. Marriage is one man, one woman — Always has been. Always will be.  It’s almost as silly as proposing that we change the definition of triangles to circular. There is no such thing as round triangles. There is no such thing as same-sex marriage.”

If you live in Illinois, contact your state legislators IMMEDIATELY and tell them to vote NO on the bill to legalize same-sex marriage.  The Silent Majority needs to stand up and stop being silent.  Make your voices heard in the state capital and help protect the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman.