Will Ill. Legalize Gay Marriage Before Legislature Adjourns? : NPR

Contents:

• ILLOIS LEGISLATURE PASS GAY MARRIAGE BILL, PAVG THE WAY FOR LEGALIZATN
• ILLOIS: GAY MARRIAGE BILL IS SENT TO SENATE
• LAWMAKERS APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS
• ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE: HOW PASSED
• 2013: THE YEAR OF GAY MARRIAGE?
• QUN SIGNS ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BILL
• ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE: HOE FAILS TO VOTE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL FRIDAY, BILL DELAYED UNTIL FALL
• MARRY YOU MT!: GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS
• ILLOIS: GAY MARRIAGE VOTE VERY LIKELY
• WILL ILL. LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE BEFORE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS?
• ILLOIS SENDS BILL ALLOWG GAY MARRIAGE TO GOVERNOR
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BE LAW AS PROMPTS HOPE, NCERN

ILLOIS LEGISLATURE PASS GAY MARRIAGE BILL, PAVG THE WAY FOR LEGALIZATN

State senators approved technil chang Tuday to a measure legalizg gay weddgs, shortly after a historic favorable vote the state Hoe. "As Print, I have always believed that gay and lbian Amerins should be treated fairly and equally unr the law, " Obama said. A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 13 of the New York edn wh the headle: Illois: Gay Marriage Bill Is Sent To Senate.

ILLOIS: GAY MARRIAGE BILL IS SENT TO SENATE

Pat Qun signed legislatn Wednday allowg same-sex weddgs startg June 1, makg Illois the 16th state to legalize gay marriage. Lawmakers approved gay marriage Tuday a historic vote that saw supporters overe cultural, racial and geographic divis and put Illois le wh a growg number of stat that have extend the right to wed to same-sex more than a year of tense lobbyg by both sis, gay lawmakers ma emotnal pleas to lleagu to give their fai equal rights even as opponents argued that dog so would unravel the foundatn of society. Rolvg the gay marriage qutn also allows state lears to get a divisive issue off their plat before next year's big statewi electn, even as long-standg fancial issu headled by the state's $100 billn public worker pensn shortfall rema unrolved.

"Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the mted upl Illois whose love will now be as legal as ours — and for their iends and fay who have long wanted nothg more than to see their loved on treated fairly and equally unr the law, " Obama said a vote Tuday pped a year which prospects for gay marriage often were dim.

LAWMAKERS APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS

Supreme Court's landmark lg that stck down the fn of marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of receivg feral hailed as a major victory, the move created a suatn which gay upl livg stat that regnize same-sex marriage have more rights than their unterparts stat that haven't legalized gay marriage. The two-class system was a clear narrative that advot uld e when lobbyg lawmakers who were on the fence, ntendg jt didn't make sense for gay upl Illois to be nied accs to benefs that were available to upl livg jt across the borr Iowa. Advot soon received addnal help om Pope Francis, who warned that the Catholic Church uld lose s way by focg too much on social stanc, cludg opposn to homosexualy.

" Francis said ments sparked a wave of soul-searchg by several Catholic lawmakers who had battled to rencile their relig beliefs wh their sworn duty to reprent their nstuents who were creasgly supportive of gay rights even as Cardal Francis Gee remaed opposed. "For those that jt happen to be gay — livg a very harmon, productive relatnship but illegal — who am I to judge that they should be illegal? Madigan had e unr fire om some gay rights groups who argued that he wasn't dog enough to build support the chamber he ntrols, but advot say he was cril roundg up the fal need vot the last several, Madigan acknowledged that he helped persua "a signifint number of people" to vote for the legislatn.

"It was over five, " Madigan said, addg that was not over addn, Ain-Amerin lawmakers who had been divid on the issue provid some key vot favor, and three Hoe Republins me speaker gave much cred to Harris, the bill's sponsor, sayg he was steadfast the face of "unwarranted cricism" om some the gay muny who were not happy wh the way Harris was handlg the bill.

ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE: HOW PASSED

The legislatn would not require relig anizatns to wed gay upl, and church officials would not be forced to allow gay upl seekg to marry to e their opponents say the bill don't go far enough to protect relig rights.

"J loved everyone, " Dunk Majory Lear Barbara Flynn Currie likened the nial of gay marriage to laws agast terracial marriage s Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chigo, said the issue mattered very much to the fai that would be impacted, readg a letter om a 10-year-old girl beg raised by a gay uple who asked, "Will you let my two dads be married? Greg Harris stood ont of his sk Monday night and voiced the qutn on the mds of the roughly dozen advot, lobbyists and lawmakers packed to his small office near the Capol: Should he ll the gay marriage bill for a vote the next day?

Harris' cisn not to ll the bill at the end of the sprg ssn brought divisns the gay marriage movement to the surface and led to a enzied ph over the summer to turn thgs around. Hired media nsultants produced a statewi mpaign featurg heartfelt vios of gay and lbian upl and flood social media s wh their stori. Relig groups appealed to his Catholic fah, while gay rights groups hound him wh pollg data that showed wi backg for gay marriage by rints of his district.

2013: THE YEAR OF GAY MARRIAGE?

"In the end, had to be my cisn, " said D'Ami, who add he met wh his nstuents for months and heard a lot of support for gay marriage.

Some lawmakers feared votg for gay marriage would spire those opposed to the bill to n agast them the March primary electn, but Madigan strsed that votg for gay marriage was the polilly expedient thg to do as public opn grows s favor. "Lawmakers who acknowledge they were worried about the polil fallout of votg for gay marriage say they are prepared to fend the choice.

Others wonred why the state need gay marriage so soon after grantg same-sex upl the abily to enter to civil unns, which were billed as a way to provi many of the same rights and happened next was an tnal mpaign to help lawmakers unrstand what was at stake. While hailed as a major victory at the time, the move created a suatn which gay upl livg stat that regnize same-sex marriage still had more rights than their unterparts stat that haven't legalized gay marriage. "I shared wh them the impact that the gay marriage effort had natnally on dividuals and their fancial stat, " Pugh said of his lobbyg efforts.

QUN SIGNS ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BILL

"In addn, gay marriage advot received unexpected help when Pope Francis suggted the Catholic Church uld lose s way by focg too much on social stanc, cludg opposn to homosexualy.

Supporters said they also saw a boost of support among Catholics any time Cardal Francis Gee spoke out agast gay marriage, leadg some to speculate that Gee liberately remaed quiet on the issue recent addrs another ncern, the bill was amend to reerate that church and affiliated groups wouldn't be forced to host or perform gay marriage ceremoni. ""I was shocked through this procs how many close fay iends would ntact me that live the district who are closely affiliated wh the Catholic Church who have a gay child or gay relative and asked me to support , " DeLu said. Meanwhile, the succsful efforts to pass gay marriage Illois a relatively short time have advot other stat seekg advice on how to lnch a siar strategy.

ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE: HOE FAILS TO VOTE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL FRIDAY, BILL DELAYED UNTIL FALL

Harris, the hight-rankg openly gay lawmaker Illois history, reprents Illois’ 13th District, which clus parts of northwt Chigo cludg Uptown, Ravenswood, Lln Square and Wt Ridge. While the bill passed the Hoe and was signed to law that November, earlier that year, Harris was subject to jeers om gay rights activists furiated when beme clear the bill was not gog to be voted on that May.

MARRY YOU MT!: GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS

Harris said that what changed the polil dynamic on the marriage equaly bill was that more and more gay Illoisans me out “jt tellg their story about who they are and who they love and who their fay is to their neighbors, and to their iends and -workers and to people they worship wh…. If is approved, Illois would be the 10th state, pl the District of Columbia, to legalize same-sex marriage, acrdg to Lambda Legal, a gay rights anizatn. They clu the ernment shutdown, the bungled health-re webse rollout, the Edward Snown leaks, and the New Jersey and Virgia gubernatorial there's a story we fet to clu that should have been on the list: gay, when lookg back on , some uld argue that 2013 was the year of gay marriage and gay rights about :-- In the past year, gay marriage beme legal seven addnal stat (Delaware, Hawaii, Illois, Mnota, New Jersey, New Mexi, and Rho Island).

ILLOIS: GAY MARRIAGE VOTE VERY LIKELY

-- The Supreme Court stck down the Defense of Marriage Act, and (sentially) upheld the 9th Circu cisn overturng California's gay-marriage ban.

WILL ILL. LEGALIZE GAY MARRIAGE BEFORE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS?

-- Numero Democratic policians announced their support for gay marriage, as did Republins Rob Portman (whose son is gay), Mark Kirk, and Lisa Murkowski. -- The legatn the Obama admistratn is sendg to the 2014 Wter Olympics Rsia is beg led by proment Amerin gay athlet – ostensibly to prott Rsia’s anti-gay laws.

-- And acrdg to an April NBC/WSJ poll, 53% of Amerins said they favored gay marriage -- up om only 41% who said this 2009, and up om jt 30% who said 's also worth notg the red-blue divi when to the that same April NBC/WSJ poll, 73% of Democrats said they supported gay marriage, vers jt 27% of 's more, Print Barack Obama rried all 17 stat where gay marriage is legal both the 2008 and 2012 printial helps expla the partisan spl over A&E spendg "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson over ntroversial ments he ma about if 2013 was a year about gay marriage, 's also te that the issue probably isn't gog Murray, Senr Polil Edor, NBC News. Pat Qun on Wednday put his signature on a historic measure makg Illois the 16th state to allow same-sex marriage, ppg a 40-year ph for gay rights that picked up major momentum durg the past .

ILLOIS SENDS BILL ALLOWG GAY MARRIAGE TO GOVERNOR

The uple have been together for 15 years but said they got tired of wag on Illois to pass gay marriage and were legally married Iowa unn now will be regnized Illois, which Anrson said will ee her fay om send-class stat and means they no longer have to rry a "dossier" of legal paperwork to prove their relatnship should an emergency occur.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

It took an addnal six years for civil unns to be approved, but only about half that time for the gay marriage, support for same-sex marriage is far om universal Illois. As policians talked up the mers of gay marriage Chigo, down Sprgfield, a crowd gathered for an exorcism by the lol Catholic bishop prott of the ernor's actn. The measure uld be lled for a vote when lawmakers return to Sprgfield the new year, though they face a light legislative schle before the March 18 primary said he's weighg whether 's fair to ask his lleagu to take another tough vote so soon after votg for gay marriage, acknowledgg that a later effective date was the tra-off for passg the proposal this fall bee a lay implementatn meant jt 60 Hoe vot were need to pass the bill stead of Harmon poted to some gay advot who died wag for the right to marry, sayg some people who want to take advantage of the new law might not be around seven months.

"I'd jt hate to leave people poised on the precipice of equaly be told they n't m — yet, " Harmon lag time did ltle to dampen spirs Wednday, as supporters noted jt how far Illois has e supportg gay rights a relatively short Cameron, 38, who traveled om St.

ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BE LAW AS PROMPTS HOPE, NCERN

Elmo southern Illois, noted that jt eight years ago gay people Illois were fightg for basic rights such as equal hog and employment opportuni. That means he ntrols the purse strgs to large chts of mpaign money that uld be val should one of his members face a primary challenge over their cisn to vote favor of gay Wednday, Madigan gave much of the cred to sponsorg Sen. Greg Harris, both Chigo Democrats, who at one pot faced protts om some gay rights advot unhappy wh the way Madigan was handlg the bill.

Further, they ntend offers ltle the way of protectns for weddg photographers, bakers or other service provirs who uld face legal actn for refg to work for gay upl. Supporters argue that the benefs of the law outweigh those Hannan, 20, of Tremont central Illois, said the measure would give hope to gay teenagers facg adversy.