Illinois House of Representatives Fails to Vote On Marriage Bill

(Springfield, IL, May 31, 2013) -  At the close of the legislative session 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. Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Jim Bennett, Director of the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal:

“This is a stunning failure in the Illinois House. This is too important to families across Illinois, and Lambda Legal’s lawsuit, Darby v. Orr, which was filed a year ago yesterday will move forward. The day is coming when Illinois will have the freedom to marry. Lambda Legal has been working in the Midwest for the respect of our relationships for 20 years and we won’t stop until same-sex couples in Illinois are treated with dignity and respect.

“We’d like to thank Sen. Steans for passing this bill in the Senate.  We thank Rep. Harris, Rep. Cassidy and Rep. Mell,  who have worked so hard to see this through. However, it's unacceptable that our community did not at least get the vote Rep. Harris promised on the House floor.  We have a right to know where our elected officials stand on the fundamental right to marry the person you love.  We will continue to work with them to push toward passing this critical law as soon as possible.”

The momentum for the freedom to marry has been steadily building; in the past six months, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, Delaware and Rhode Island have joined 9 other jurisdictions in granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry (Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington D.C.). President Obama and President Clinton have endorsed marriage for same-sex couples, and in Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have publicly supported marriage for lesbian and gay couples.

Together, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois each filed lawsuits on May 30, 2012, representing a total of 25 same-sex couples from across the state of Illinois seeking the freedom to marry. Two days later, the Illinois Attorney General's office filed papers agreeing that barring same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional. The Cook County Clerk and States Attorney also agree that the marriage ban is unconstitutional.

For more information about Lambda Legal's case, Darby v. Orr, visit the case page at www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/darby-v-orr or to learn more about Lambda Legal's ILove marriage campaign visit: www.lambdalegal.org/ilove.

Camilla Taylor, National Marriage Project Director and Christopher Clark, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office are handling the case Darby v. Orr for Lambda Legal. They are joined by Emily Nicklin, Jordan M. Heinz and Amy Crawford of Kirkland& Ellis LLP in Chicago.