At the close of the legislative session today, the Illinois House of Representatives did not call for a floor vote or advance the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, the bill that would grant same-sex couples in Illinois the freedom to marry.
This is a stunning failure in the Illinois House.
One year ago today, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of 16 same-sex couples and their children seeking the freedom to marry in Illinois.
Let’s take a moment to review some of the amazing progress made since then.
An open letter from plaintiffs in Lambda Legal's Illinois marriage lawsuit Darby v. Orr and the ACLU of Illinois' lawsuit Lazaro v. Orr:
Dear Fellow Illinoisans,
A letter from Illinois State Representative, Greg Harris, 13th District, Lead Sponsor of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act:
I’ve voted on my fair share of important bills in my time in the Illinois House of Representatives.
We are so close to having the freedom to marry in Illinois. The Illinois House Executive Committee voted X-X in favor of SB10, the bill that would provide marriage for same-sex couples in Illinois. The bill now advances to the House floor for a vote.
From the Chicago Tribune:
A little more than two years ago, the Illinois General Assembly took a carefully measured step toward marriage equality, the full legal recognition of committed partnerships, regardless of the parties' sexual orientation.
With a vote of 34-21, the Illinois Senate passed a marriage equality bill today. Lambda Legal celebrates the vote and urges the Illinois House of Representatives to follow.
An Illinois court today rejected an attempt by a conservative legal group to put Lambda Legal’s Illinois marriage lawsuit on hold pending a decision in two marriage cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.