Justin's Political Corner

The Illinois Family Institute continues to be the top group standing in the way of equality in the Land of Lincoln. The IFI also continues to show that its true agenda goes far beyond our ring fingers:

Feeling self-satisfied by a state marriage bill that failed to come to a vote, the Illinois Family Institute is now working to deny that civil marriages even exist for same-sex couples, and is calling on those in currently legal marriages to break their relationships and “repent.” Happy Pride Month!

This call comes via a column penned by noted evangelical John Piper, which the IFI is heavily promoting on its site. In said column, Piper reduces gay people to having “same-sex attraction” that “is a brokenness that is part of humanity’s fallen condition,” claims that there’s no such thing as a marriage between a same-sex couple and that states that say otherwise are engaging in a “prostitution of language,” and encourages his supporters to guide gay people through a process of divorcing ours spouses and “repenting.” I’m not being facetious with that last line—Piper seriously lays out a thirteen-point plan for how his side can “lead us out” of our marriages and our orientations.

Unlike the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council has had no reservations about partnering with the Illinois Family Institute to fight marriage equality in Illinois. In FRC’s Washington Update Monday, Tony Perkins boasted that the marriage bill did not come up for a vote, cheering the tearful announcement by Rep. Greg Harris (D) as an accomplishment:

The LGBT lobby, who assumed their bullying would have the same effect on these legislators as it’s had in other states, were completely blindsided by the churches’ powerful resistance. On Friday, while the Left was preparing for a victory lap, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), tearfully announced on the last day of the session that he didn’t have the votes to bring the bill to the floor.

For our side, which has had its share of setbacks, it was a reminder of what can be accomplished when we stand together. Illinois voters refused to buy the line that same-sex “marriage” is inevitable — and because of their courage, it wasn’t! Join us in congratulating the Illinois Family Institute and the hundreds of pastors who stood their ground on marriage! It was a victory well-deserved, and more than that, a success story every state can learn from.

Harris has defended his decision not to hold a vote amid criticism from advocates for not forcing lawmakers to voice their position on the record.

But FRC doesn’t seem concerned with why Harris, who is openly gay, might have been upset by his bill’s setback. Indeed, by claiming that the LGBT lobby was engaging in “bullying,” the group is trying to paint opponents of equality as victims of some kind, even though allowing same-sex couples to marry would have no impact on their lives. Promoting and cheering the continued second-class status of the gay community is one of the many reasons both FRC and IFI are classified as hate groups.

Friday evening was incredibly disappointing for the LGBT advocates who had been anticipating a vote on marriage equality in the Illinois House for months. At the core of the chamber’s failure to call a vote seemed to be miscommunications between the bill’s sponsor Rep. Greg Harris (D), Democratic leadership, and advocates for the bill. 

Indeed, a week before the end of the session, Harris promised not only a vote, but a successful one.

It seems the chances for the bill are not yet entirely dead. Friday night, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) — upon whom Baim also cast blame because he “did not flex his [political] muscles” — extended the marriage bill’s deadline for approval until August 31. This means that if Gov. Pat Quinn (D) calls a special session this summer, he could include the marriage equality bill, which he supports. It’s unclear if this will happen or what the bill’s chances would be under such circumstances.

The National Organization for Marriage, reeling from losses in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Minnesota, was quick to gloat about the bill’s demise. Despite not playing a very large role in the state, Brian Brown boasted, “We are gratified that our collective hard work has paid off in this stunning victory.” The Illinois Family Institute, whose hateful rhetoric has dominated the fight, expressed joy over the government’s “retention of sexual complementarity in the legal definition of marriage.” Both groups referenced the African-American community, continuing attempts to “drive a wedge” between LGBT groups and people of color. Despite suggestions to the contrary, both opposition and support for the bill came from diverse groups, so such generalizations are not applicable.

Marriage equality’s failure in Illinois could perhaps offer some timely implications as the Supreme Court weighs its decisions regarding the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, expected later this month. Marriage equality opponents, led by House Republicans, argued to the Court that the gay community does not deserve protection as a group under the Constitution because they are too politically powerful. As Laurel Ramseyer points out at Pam’s House Blend, the defeat in Illinois serves as a prime example debunking that argument. Indeed, even an openly gay elected official with three openly gay colleagues could not rally the simple majority necessary to call for a vote ensuring that all families be equally protected under the law. The momentum of the past several years should not be construed as victory having already been accomplished, nor should a righteous sense of inevitability be confused with assured success at every step along the way. Hopefully the Supreme Court acknowledges that increasing public support and the need for constitutional protection are not mutually exclusive.

h/t: Think Progress LGBT

Same-sex couples in Illinois will have to wait even longer for equal rights. In a move that shocked many community members and advocates, the Illinois House ended its current session without calling a vote on the Marriage Equality Bill, SB10. The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act will now sit in legislative limbo until the fall’s “veto session,” where bill sponsor Representative Greg Harris has said he will once again try to put it forward. This current failure in the Illinois General Assembly follows a successful Valentine’s Day vote by the Illinois Senate of 34 to 21, as well as vocal support from Governor Pat Quinn, who has said he would sign the bill into law.

A visibly emotional and upset Rep. Greg Harris made the announcement from the house floor, saying the 60 votes needed for passage simply weren’t there and that colleagues had asked for “more time” for a vote. “I have never been sadder to accept such a request,” Harris said through tears. “In the meantime, I apologize to the families who were hoping to wake up full and equal citizens.”

The stalled marriage bill comes at a time when Democrats hold a veto-proof majority of 71 Dems to just 47 Republicans. Yet pressure from the politically powerful Catholic Church in Illinois as well as some conservative African-American clergy seemed to have peeled off enough support from the bill among some conservative-leaning downstate Democrats, a portion of Black Caucus members, as well as Republicans for the needed 60 votes to fall short.

The current defeat also comes after an earlier unsuccessful attempt by marriage equality advocates in Illinois to pass the marriage equality bill during the lame-duck legislative session in early January. At that time, the bill was successfully voted out of the Senate Executive Committee, but was not considered by the full chamber due to procedural hurdles.

It seems the long road to full equality in “The Prairie State” will continue to wind on, at least for now, as marriage equality supporters look ahead to both the veto session in the house and the current marriage lawsuit making its way through the Illinois court system brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU.

Illinois Civil Unions: Separate And Unequal

In 2011 Illinois passed the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, a so-called “everything but marriage” law that provided strong civil unions through the state legislature. The act reads broadly about what it provided for same-sex couples, stating:

This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes, which are to provide adequate procedures for the certification and registration of a civil union and provide persons entering into a civil union with the obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses. (750 ILCS 75/5)

In short, anyone in a civil union got the same state benefits as someone who is married. The act even put in purposefully broad language about being “liberally construed” to implement the purpose and spirit of the law.

Yet almost immediately, problems with civil unions arose. There was a drawn-out legal battle between Catholic Charities and the state of Illinois over the $30 million in taxpayer dollars that the religious charity received for foster care and adoption services, and their refusal to grant those services to same-sex couples in civil unions, which ended in a loss for the church. This led to a growing tension between the church hierarchy and advancing civil rights. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago likened the city’s pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan, sparking outrage, protests and an eventual half-apology from the cardinal.

There was also the case of the Springfield, Ill., Joint Labor/Management Insurance Committee deciding not to cover health benefits for the civil union partners of city employees. The committee used the different relationship status of same-sex couples and married heterosexual couples to carve out the exemption to civil union spouses. They cited the benefits for same-sex couples being too costly, which is an argument that would never be accepted when applied to a more universally understood institution like full marriage. Public outrage eventually made them change their decision and cover all couples equally.

Perhaps the most illuminating example is the confusing decision by the Illinois Department of Revenue saying that couples in civil unions “may not file joint Illinois returns,” and that the new civil unions law “did not change the Illinois income tax laws.” After much pushing from legislators and the community, the department reversed their decision, allowing same-sex couples in civil unions to file jointly in the state. Yet this confusion within the state government itself over the law shows just how easy it is for civil unions to fall short.

In a show of just how unequal civil unions were, 25 gay and lesbian couples represented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois brought a lawsuit seeking to overturn Illinois’ 16-year-old ban on same-sex marriages. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided not to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and agreed with the lawsuit that the ban is unconstitutional. Cook County Clerk David Orr, who is the subject of the original suits, also agreed that the law was unconstitutional and refuses to defend it as well. A judge granted two downstate Illinois county clerks permission to defend the ban. The Thomas Moore Society, a conservative Chicago-based not-for-profit law firm that opposes gay marriage, filed that request to intervene on behalf of Effingham County Clerk Kerry Hirtzel and Tazewell County Clerk Christie Webb.

Illinois State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) has made clear that the current civil unions law does not offer full equality. “I think the lawsuits that we are seeing move through the courts right now are showing clearly that … all over the state, there are numerous instances where families are being denied their basic rights under civil unions,” Harris said.

In fact, research has shown that in area after area — whether tax law, health insurance, hospitalization, family issues, personal finance or actions by state and local officials — same-sex couples, even ones in civil unions, are treated unequally, denied their basic rights or singled out for discrimination.

These are all glaring examples of why separate is never equal and why moving toward marriage equality was vitally necessary, even if difficult. Civil unions have created a lower class of recognition that, while providing much-needed rights and protections, reinforced the idea that LGBT relationships were less than their heterosexual counterparts. Creating this new, separate and different level of rights and recognition among committed couples only created further inequity, confusion and discord.

Civil unions were considered a first step but never an end goal.

Strong Opposition

Among the strongest opposition to marriage equality was the highly influential and politically powerful Catholic Church. In September 2012 the Catholic Conference of Illinoisannounced the formation of a Defense of Marriage department, whose sole purpose was to fight any future attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The stated goal of the department was to protect the “stature of the nuclear family — which provides love, stability and confidence to children, as well as organization to society.” The Defense of Marriage department started throwing out incendiary (and scientifically unfounded) claims about the “dangers” of marriage equality: “The effects [of same-sex marriage] are evident in the performance of children in school, in truancy and crime rates, and in an ailing culture that too often values feeling good over self-giving, and individuality over the common good.”

Even then-Pope Benedict XVI himself continued the attacks, on marriage equality, saying that gay marriage was a threat to the traditional family that undermined “the future of humanity itself.”

And the Catholic Church wasn’t alone in its opposition. Anticipating the fight over passage of a marriage equality bill, the Coalition to Protect Children and Marriage was unveiled by equality opponents on Dec. 18, 2012. It included the extreme anti-equality organizations like the Illinois Family Institute, Concerned Christian Americans, the Eagle Forum of Illinois, the Illinois Citizens for Life PAC, the Abstinence and Marriage Partnership, Lake County Right to Life and Family-Pac.

A group of of conservative African-American clergy also provided fierce opposition. Bishop Larry Trotter, co-chair of the African American Clergy Coalition, released a statement applauding the bill’s current failure, writing, “Today our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has won! Pastor James Meeks, Bishop Lance Davis and I are so proud of the God fearing Black Caucus members who withstood the pressure of the LGBT forces and allowed God’s word concerning marriage to remain between one man and one woman in Illinois.”

But even this concerted and powerful religious-based opposition, though seemingly successful in swaying some members of the Illinois House, wasn’t enough to stop full marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples from enjoying majority support from Illinois voters.

A Right Delayed, A Right Denied

The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act has far-reaching implications for Illinois’ same-sex couples. Under the bill, marriage in Illinois would have changed from an act between “a man and a woman” to one “between two people.” What the law means is simple: ALL couples in Illinois would have the same rights and responsibilities that come with full marriage equality. No one will have to awkwardly say that they are “civil unioned,” then explain what that means to those who don’t know. Couples would all just be married, gay or straight. The confusion over the “separate and unequal” status of same-sex couples, and the problems we have seen under the civil unions law, will come to an end within the state.

These civil unions could have been converted to full marriages within a year of the law going on the books, with out-of-state marriages being recognized immediately. And despite the objections and scare-tactics used by the religious based opposition, the legislation would not have required religious organizations to solemnize a marriage of gay couples, nor would church officials have been forced to allow their facilities to be used by same-sex couples seeking to marry.

The new law could have also meant a financial boon for Illinois. A recent study from The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that extending equal marriage to same-sex couples could add up to $103 million to the state economy and $8.5 million in new state and local tax revenue.

Marriage equality in Illinois would have also had far broader impact on same-sex couples in the state as the U.S. Supreme Court takes on the constitutionality of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” which denies same-sex couples federal benefits equal to their married heterosexual counterparts. The court is expected to rule in June, long before the veto session of the Illinois House. If the act is struck down, the federal government will recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, giving gay couples the full array of rights available to married heterosexual couples. If the law is overturned, couples in Illinois could have seen full marriage equality both within the state and federally in the same year.

But for now, same-sex couples in Illinois will have to continue the long process of watching legislators, judges, politicians, priests, organizations, and every other possible person weigh in on what their relationships should or shouldn’t be. They will have to continue to navigate the maze of what it means to be a same-sex couple simply wishing to declare their love—and access the rights and responsibilities that come with marriage.

May we see the light at the end of the tunnel this year with a YES vote for same-sex marriage in the fall session!

H/T: Waymon Hudson at Huffington Post

As you may have known last night, the Illinois House of Representatives gutlessly decided NOT to vote on the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act (IL SB10), which was the bill that would’ve made Illinois the 13th state to legalize marriage equality. This was a bill that I personally thought was going to pass (or at least voted on). Alas, it wasn’t.

As a result, I am really upset at the Illinois House and at House Speaker Michael Madigan especially for allowing a non-vote to happen. Also, ANY Democrat that votes NO to marriage equality in the fall session should get a primary challenger!

The viciously homophobic Illinois Family Institute declared last night’s non-vote a “victory for ‘traditional marriage’”:

The bill to legalize same-sex “marriage” has failed to advance in the Illinois House before lawmakers adjourned for the summer. In a bit of political theater, the bill’s sponsor, homosexual activist Greg Harris (D-Chicago) wept as he stood on the House floor to announce that he didn’t have the votes to pass the bill. In a liberal state like Illinois, this is a truly remarkable victory. 

As Christians we know that all good things are gifts from God, and the retention of sexual complementarity in the government’s definition of marriage is a very good thing. The failure of this bill is a good thing for children, for parental rights, for religious liberty, for the common good, and for truth. 

Despite what the bill’s supporters claim in a dishonest attempt to stigmatize supporters of natural marriage, the retention of sexual complementarity in the legal definition of marriage bears no kinship to bans on interracial marriage. Nor does it signify injustice to those who seek to marry someone of the same sex. The failure of this bill signifies that marriage has a nature which the government merely recognizes and regulates, central to which is sexual complementarity. 

We should praise and thank God for this victory in an ever-expanding war on truth, and then redouble our efforts to preserve true marriage. Those who have worked so hard deserve a moment to celebrate and rest—but not for long. Representative Harris has promised to bring this bill back in the Fall Veto Session.

Dear IFI, you may be celebrating in the short-term, but just you wait until the SCOTUS verdicts on DOMA and/or Prop 8 go against your side and the Illinois legislatures vote again on this issue in November, you won’t be celebrating then. This non-vote on IL SB10 in the house is NOT a “victory” at all, it is just a delay of the game or even a defeat.

Homophobic cranks at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) also gloated last night’s non-vote in the House as a “victory.”
NOM:

Washington, DC — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today celebrated the failure of legislation to come to a vote late this evening in Illinois seeking to redefine marriage, thus preserving marriage in the state as the union of one man and one woman. The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, announced this evening that he did not have the votes to pass the measure and would not bring the legislation to a vote. Assuming this is the case, the bill is thus dead until the fall when the Legislature reconvenes for a veto session. 

“This effort to redefine marriage in Illinois was one of the most fiercely contested legislative battles in the country this year,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “This is a great victory for our allies and supporters, as well as Illinois families who have worked tirelessly with us to preserve marriage in Illinois. We are gratified that our collective hard work has paid off in this stunning victory.” 

“So much for the inevitability of gay marriage,” said Brian Brown. “With a coalition that included strong support from the African American community as well as so many others throughout the state, we did what nobody in the intelligentsia thought was possible. This is a huge victory at a pivotal time, and totally undercuts the lie that somehow same-sex marriage is inevitable.”

What you’re really doing, NOM, is that you’re only delaying the inevitable passage of marriage equality in the state.


But here’s the good news: When the Fall Veto Session resumes, hopefully we’ll get marriage equality passed and done right!! Pray for it to be passed this fall!!!


Chicago Phoenix:

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois gay and lesbian couples will not wake up to the promise of full marriage equality on Saturday. 

In a devastating and unexpected blow to marriage equality supporters Friday, the sponsor of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage was unable to call the measure up for vote before time ran out on the legislative session. 

The sudden and resounding defeat for marriage proponents ends an intense, emotional, and at times nasty months-long debate over the issue in the Spring legislative session, but hope remains for another shot in the November veto session. 

All of that was felt in the House chamber when Rep. Greg Harris, the bill’s sponsor stood to speak minutes before adjournment.
The entire room fell silent. 

Harris rose from his chair, and in a tearful message to the Illinois House, said he was unable to convince enough of his fellow lawmakers and achieve a 60-vote majority required to pass the bill. Those assembled in the gallery erupted, shouting “Call the vote!” But Harris stood, momentarily crippled by the response, and then continued to explain.
The state General Assembly will return for the veto session later this year.

More on the IL marriage equality fight, see the #IL4M tag on Justin’s Political Corner: http://justinspoliticalcorner.tumblr.com/tagged/IL4M


Twitter/Instagram hashtags in support of IL SB10: #IL4M, #ILove, #ILequality, #ILSB10, #FightBackIL

(cross-posted from JGibsonBlog)

The Illinois Family Institute’s David E. Smith and Andrew Willis have used their incredible wisdom and logic to poke a hole in the idea that gay and lesbian couples in Illinois really want to get married.

Here’s how their argument goes: According to the census, very few gay and lesbian couples in Illinois got “civil unionized” in 2012. Therefore, why would they fight so hard for marriage equality?!

In Illinois, only 0.45 percent of the homosexual population received a civil union in the first full year of availability, and only a fraction of a percent (0.0166 percent) of Illinois’ population got “civil unionized” in 2012. This is the response to all the enthusiasm and celebration that surrounded the passage of Illinois’ civil unions law?

The response to civil unions has been lackluster at best, and one should not expect these percentages to rise dramatically. The law came into effect June of 2011, so one would expect that homosexuals who had been committed to a partner would have formed a civil union by now, but the vast majority have not.

…

… Why the sudden political urgency for a same-sex “marriage” law in Illinois — when there seems to be so very little interest in forming civil unions? And there is absolutely zero evidence that same-sex “marriage” would be more popular in the long run than civil unions has proven to be in Illinois.

The short answers are these: Separate but equal is not equal. And for many gay and lesbian couples, they’re not settling for a watered-down version of marriage. They want to be treated the same as straight couples in the eyes of the government and that’s not going to happen until full marriage equality is achieved.

But back to the numbers. I’m trying to make sense of IFI’s statistics, but when they distort them this badly, it’s hard.

In any case, IFI claims what gay rights supporters really want is not equality, but power. Power and the destruction of society:

The ultimate goal is the eradication of conservative moral beliefs and the creation of a social and legal climate that promotes homosexuality as normal behavior. Redefining marriage in order to accommodate the unjustifiable demands of a tiny but politically powerful group will ultimately prove too costly.

There’s paranoid bigotry at its finest.

h/t: The Friendly Atheist blog at Patheos

With the end of the Illinois’ spring legislation session just days away, LGBT leaders say that equal marriage legislation has the support needed to pass by month’s end.

Sponsors have until May 31 to pass the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,” which would allow all couples, regardless of their gender, to marry. Failing that deadline, the bill’s passage would be delayed for months.

LGBT groups pushing for the bill say they are ready to see it come up for a vote.

“I have absolutely no doubt we’re going to be done with this by May 31,” said Jim Bennett, Midwest regional director for Lambda Legal. “I believe that this bill is going to pass.”

Bennett declined to give a specific vote count, but said that he expected the bill could be called and passed any day.

Rick Garcia, policy advisor for The Civil Rights Agenda, said he thinks the bill has the 60 votes needed for passage in the House.

“I believe we’re there,” said Garcia. “The cake is baked. We’re waiting for the icing.”

The bill passed the Senate on Valentine’s Day. House sponsors have since struggled to pull together enough votes to pass it in the House.

Illinois Unites for Marriage, a coalition of groups working for the bill, has scheduled a community meeting to update supporters on the bill’s progress and share plans surrounding the vote Wednesday evening.

The bill has the backing of major political players in Illinois, including Gov. Pat Quinn, who told Windy City Times that he has met personally with more than a dozen representatives in an attempt to get the bill passed. Quinn has said he will sign the measure into law.

Chief Sponsor Greg Harris has vowed not to call for a vote until the votes are there to pass it.

Steve Brown, a spokesperson for Speaker Mike Madigan, confirmed that Madigan has also met with wavering lawmakers in recent days in an effort to secure the final votes.

“There were conversations with people last week, hoping to persuade some people,” Brown said.

But when the vote comes is in the sponsors’ hands, Brown said.

“That would all be up to Greg Harris,” he said. Brown said he could not give a specific vote count.

Harris could not be reached to comment before press time.

If the bill does not pass by month’s end, sponsors will need to wait until at least until fall to push the legislation. That option, however, is not seen favorably. Representatives hold office for just two years, and campaigns are expected to heat up as the year goes on, making controversial legislation like equal marriage harder to pass with time.

Complicating that option, Garcia pointed out, will be anti-gay efforts to stop the bill. Delays in its passage will give anti-gay organizations and churches time to mobilize opposition. Illinois Family Institute, a staunchly anti-gay group, has already held several rallies throughout the Chicago area against the bill.

The Illinois Unites for Marriage community meeting will be held Wednesday, May 22nd at 5:30 p.m. at the Urban League, first floor conference room, 4510 S. Michigan Ave. That meeting will be cancelled if a vote is expected that day. See windycitytimes.com for up-to-the-minute information.

h/t: Windy City Times

In many of the states that have waged marriage equality fights recently, opponents have often coalesced around a coalition consisting of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the state’s Catholic conference, and the state’s “family policy council” affiliate of the Family Research Council. In Illinois, however, these typical players have not united in the same way, seemingly in part because the state social conservative group is the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), a hate group in its own right associated with the American Family Association.

IFI’s rhetoric is quite a bit more brazen than what anti-gay groups have used in other states, which may have scared away its would-be allies. 

Today marks three months since the Illinois Senate passed the marriage equality bill, and with only three weeks left for the House to pass it, here’s a look at some of IFI’s rhetoric that is dominating the opposition:

• Today, IFI posted numerous photos from its rally this weekend, including a sign that reads, “The crime against nature will never be equal.”
• Speakers at the rally included ex-gay advocate Linda Jernigan and another hate group leader, Peter LaBarbera, who told the crowd that homosexuality is “unnatural and wrong,” citing HIV rates among men who have sex with men as evidence of “the dangers of homosexuality.”
• In February, IFI’s Laurie Higgins wrote that gay people shouldn’t even be allowed to teach because they’ll put pictures of their partners on their desk that students will see.
• In fact, IFI believes that parents should pull their children from any classroom that attempts to create a safe environment for LGBT students.
• IFI has claimed gays and lesbians already have equality because they can marry the opposite sex like everyone else; same-sex marriage is thus a demand “to be treated specially.”

This extreme rhetoric extends beyond the talking points conservatives have traditionally used in these fights, which tend to focus on supposed protections for children, gender norms, and the institution of marriage. By openly condemning homosexuality as unnatural and curable through therapy — as well as enabling the bullying of LGBT youth — IFI sets itself apart.

H/T: Zack Ford at Think Progress LGBT

The rings? Check. The guest list? Check. The marriage license? Well, that remains to be seen when it comes to same-sex couples in Illinois.

While vocal opposition to same-sex marriage remains, more state politicians and organizations are backing legalization. LGBT advocates believe the gay marriage bill is very close to clearing its last real hurdle: the Illinois House. Elected officials from President Obama to U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) have endorsed gay marriage. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of two same-sex marriage cases.

“In the last year, both in Illinois and around the rest of the country, the change in public opinion and political support has been phenomenal,” said State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who is sponsoring the House’s gay marriage bill.

Opponents are lobbying state legislators to maintain marriage as it currently is defined under state law: a union between a man and a woman. Some say doing so serves the best interests of children.

“The state should have and does have right now a policy which obviously promotes traditional marriage, and we want to keep it that way,” said Paul Caprio, director of Family-Pac, part of the Coalition to Protect Children and Marriage.

Illinois’ gay marriage bill, which was passed by the state Senate in February, would define marriage as an act between two people and give same-sex married couples the same benefits and protections as heterosexual couples. It would not require churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other places of worship to provide their religious facilities for marriage ceremonies if such ceremonies are in violation of their religious beliefs.

The gay marriage bill has yet to be called in the House because supporters haven’t secured the 60 votes required to pass it.

If the House passes the bill and Gov. Quinn signs it into law, Illinois would become the 10th state in the country and the second in the Midwest to allow same-sex couples to marry.

The state would join Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C., in legalizing gay marriage.

If gay marriage supporters fail to get the bill passed by May 31, the end of the spring session, they likely would have to wait until the fall session to address it.

History

Harris first proposed the gay marriage bill in 2007. Instead, civil unions for gay couples advanced, giving same-sex couples state benefits but not the federal benefits married couples get. Most states do not recognize civil unions. The Illinois General Assembly passed the civil unions bill in 2010.

The gay marriage bill has been re-introduced but has stalled until this year.

After the state Senate passed the bill on Valentine’s Day, the House bill still awaits passage.

“Just the pace of change on this topic has been unprecedented,” Harris said. “I think it will continue to move in this direction. People in every walk of life are believing, let’s treat all our families equally.”

A New Family Structures Study by a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin and published last year in the Social Science Research journal found that young adults whose parents have ever had same-sex relationships fared worse in many cases than young adults raised by biological parents in heterosexual marriages.

Among the results: They were more likely to be in therapy for problems linked to anxiety and depression and more likely to have been arrested and be unemployed.

The study was criticized for its methodology and funding from conservative foundations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement in support of marriage equality.

“There is extensive research documenting that there is no causal relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and children’s emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral development,” the statement said. “Many studies attest to the normal development of children of same-gender couples when the child is wanted, the parents have a commitment to shared parenting, and the parents have strong social and economic supports.”

Court cases

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers California’s ban on gay marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to gay couples, two local cases are pending.

Two lawsuits were filed in May 2012 by Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois in Cook County Circuit Court against Cook County Clerk David Orr. The suits note that same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses.

Orr agrees with the plaintiffs that gay couples should be allowed to marry. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Illinois Attorney General’s Office both support the lawsuits and said the state’s gay marriage ban is unconstitutional. Cook County officials are not challenging the lawsuit, but clerks from five other counties, allowed by the court to intervene in the lawsuit, are fighting it.

Political heavyweights

State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) has introduced gay marriage and civil union bills since 2007. He is the chief sponsor of the gay marriage bill pending in the House while state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) is the main sponsor of the gay marriage bill that the Senate passed. If the House passes the bill and it goes to his desk, Gov. Quinn has said he will sign it into law.

Coalition to Protect Children and Marriage

A grassroots group of opponents to gay marriage including the conservative political action committee Family-Pac, the Illinois Family Institute, Eagle Forum of Illinois, Catholic Citizens of Illinois, the Thomas More Society, Abstinence and Marriage Partnership, Lake County Right to Life and Concerned Christian Americans.

Illinois Unites for Marriage

A project of the ACLU Illinois, Equality Illinois and Lambda Legal in support of gay marriage that has been endorsed by more than 50 organizations.

h/t: Red Eye Chicago

Readers who have followed my coverage of the Illinois marriage debate know how over-the-top the Illinois Family Institute is. The IFI—one of the few state-level anti-gay groups, I should note upfront, that the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group—makes no attempt to hide its animus.

Okay, so why do I mention all this now? Oh, well because Dr. Ben Carson, the man who conservatives have presented as the person to save the Republican party, is scheduled to speak to this very same group in just a few months’ time:

It’s probably not the kind of booking I would make if I wanted to distance myself from my political career–ending comments that linked homosexuality to bestiality and NAMBLA or if I wanted to prove that I might be anything close to electable on a national level. Just a thought.

h/t: Good As You