Illinois Marriage Equality Update

Illinois, which already offers civil unions to same-sex couples, has been quietly moving toward legalizing same-sex marriage, and it looks like marriage advocates may have the votes to get it done by the end of the month:

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.

It's crucial for Illinois legislators to pass this bill ASAP, rather than push it back until the fall session, not just because it's the right and decent thing to do to get it done now, but because delaying it "will give anti-gay organizations and churches time to mobilize opposition." Right now, it's just the tiresome Illinois Family Institute having weekend rallies, but, given the summer, out-of-state groups will have time to try to influence the process.

The sponsor of the legislation, Greg Harris, has been waiting to schedule a vote until he's sure he's got the votes it needs to pass.

Get it done, Illinois. The time is now.