Illois 16th state to allow gay marriage | WBEZ Chigo

Contents:

• SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BEME LEGAL 6 YEARS AGO ILLOIS. SCE THEN, NEARLY 15,000 GAY UPL HAVE WED COOK COUNTY.
• RIGHTS OF LBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, AND TRANSGENR PERSONS
• GAY PEOPLE WHO E OUT LATER LIFE FACE UNIQUE OBSTACL
• LAWMAKERS APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS
• ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BE LAW AS PROMPTS HOPE, NCERN

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BEME LEGAL 6 YEARS AGO ILLOIS. SCE THEN, NEARLY 15,000 GAY UPL HAVE WED COOK COUNTY.

Greg Harris, a primary sponsor of the bill who is openly gay, appld activists and advot who lobbied for the legislatn. Many of those state bans also face legal challeng, wh nearly 30 lawsus filed across the untry after two Supreme Court cisns the summer that favored gay marriage rights. ': Gay upl exile return to Ameri post-DOMA cisnSame-sex marriage supporters cheer 'Crella moment'; opponents vow to fight onRights wh reach: For some gay upl, marriage is mere away -- but that's still too farDaniel Ark, Staff Wrer, NBC News.

”Gay and lbian upl won the right to marry Illois when former Gov.

RIGHTS OF LBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, AND TRANSGENR PERSONS

Illois was the first state the Midwt to allow gay marriage through legislative actn, Qun said. Iowa legalized gay marriage 2009 when s Supreme Court overturned a state ban. The Act prohibs discrimatn based on someone's actual or perceived sexual orientatn, which is fed to clu heterosexualy, homosexualy, bisexualy, and genr-related inty.

Sexual orientatn is a protected tegory unr the Illois Hate Crim Act and clus actual or perceived heterosexualy, homosexualy, bisexualy, or genr-related inty.

For Brad and Cyndi Marler, was that they are both gay. That’s not to ny so many amazg shifts public attus, laws, polici, but did not wash away a hundred years of homophobia society, ” said Ilan Meyer, a distguished senr scholar of public policy wh the Williams Instute.

GAY PEOPLE WHO E OUT LATER LIFE FACE UNIQUE OBSTACL

“Beg homosexual, you’re jt gog to go straight to hell. Even as stris were ma natnally for gay rights, the Marlers feared beg found out. It was a hoe of rds that need to e down, Brad had bee eply prsed and began workg on his ternalized homophobia wh the help of weekly therapy.

Brad noted that the shame he associated wh his sexualy was triggered after his mother nonted him when he was 16 about the possibily of beg gay. 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. Print Barack Obama noted his relatively recent nversn last year to supporter of gay marriage.

LAWMAKERS APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE ILLOIS

"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. 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. "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?

" 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.

ILLOIS GAY MARRIAGE BE LAW AS PROMPTS HOPE, NCERN

"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.

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. "My nvictn happens to be that this (gay marriage) is wrong, but my nvictn is that Scripture is right.