Leave a Comment Jacob Combs
More signs marriage equality might come to Illinois in January
December 14, 2012
By Jacob Combs
The chief sponsors of a bill to bring marriage equality to Illinois plan to push for a vote in the lame-duck session, the Chicago Tribune reports:
“Gay marriage supporters said today they have moved to ‘within striking distance’ of collecting enough votes to pass a bill in early January.
“Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Greg Harris unveiled plans to take up the measure in the closing days of the current General Assembly before a new set of lawmakers are sworn in Jan. 9.
“The legislation would allow same-sex marriage and protect the right of religious institutions to either consecrate or not consecrate such weddings, but church leaders from a variety of faiths have rallied staunch opposition.”
Greg Hinz, writing for Crain’s Chicago Business, reports that both state Senator Heather Steans, the bill’s chief sponsor in that chamber, and Rep. Greg Harris, the bill’s chief House sponsor, told reporters on a conference call that “the timing is right” to get the bill passed in January. Some lawmakers in the Illinois legislature, Rep. Harris said on the call, are rethinking their opposition to the law in light of marriage equality victories in three states during the November elections.
The Chicago Tribune reported Monday that Gov. Pat Quinn hopes the bill will come to his desk in January, saying, “It’s the House that probably the key arena at this time, and I think we’ll see how the members look at that issue. They should study it carefully and vote their conscience.”
As Hinz points out, one sign marriage equality advocates are taking the move seriously can be found in a big PR move they’ve made, tapping a firm founded by David Axelrod, a chief Obama strategist, to assist with voter and community outreach.
Steans and Harris will need to collect 60 House votes and 30 Senate votes before new the legislature’s new members are sworn in on January 9. The two hope that bringing up the bill in the lame-duck session will allow outgoing lawmakers to cast votes without fear of reelection reprisals. If passed, the law would take effect in the summer of 2013.
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12 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
jpmassar | December 14, 2012 at 8:03 am
Or they could pass the law after the new members are sworn in, when there will be significantly more Democrats in each branch of the legislature than there are now. If they are on the edge of having enough votes now, they should easily have enough votes at that point.
Any D representative seriously worried about his or her re-election chances two years hence because he or she voted for marriage equality is, IMHO, an idiot. The issue will have been long forgotten.
2.
Stefan | December 14, 2012 at 8:46 am
And support for same-sex marriage will be even greater then it is now.
3.
jpmassar | December 14, 2012 at 9:13 am
Exactly.
4.
Seth from Maryland | December 14, 2012 at 9:59 am
a win in illinois would be big , an could even have impact on the supreme court rulinngs
5.
Nyx | December 14, 2012 at 12:27 pm
If this passes in Illinois it would put pressure on Minnesota to become the third state in the heartland to have marriage equality.
6.
grod | December 14, 2012 at 7:17 pm
If so significant, why not wait until after January 9, when the new legislators, who are assumed to be more favorably disposed, would be in office? Is Illinois a ballot initiative state?
7.
Stefan | December 15, 2012 at 5:46 am
Illinois technically is, however the process is so difficult that it's only been used once in the state's history (it was to shrink the size of the state legislature). In fact, many don't even consider the state to be a ballot initiative state for this reason.
8.
Stefan | December 15, 2012 at 5:47 am
We're more then ready here too! We're planning to push for it this session and we already are setting up organizational meetings to figure out how to best get this done!
9.
MK87 | December 15, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Ballot initiatives in Illinois can only address changes to the legislature, that's why.
10.
_BK_ | December 16, 2012 at 12:54 am
I really hope to see the groundwork already established being used to further the cause! No need to stop now; there's still so much more work to be done!
11.
Stefan | December 16, 2012 at 6:01 pm
That's our exact plan BK!
12. Prop 8 Trial Tracker &raq&hellip | December 21, 2012 at 8:06 am
[...] signs for marriage equality in Illinois, where just last week state legislators said that they will push an equal marriage bill during the lame-duck session in January and where two lawsuits filed by [...]
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