Illinois state legislators may soon vote on a bill to legalize same sex marriage. Now that the new general assembly has been sworn in, the bill may be one of the first on the agenda, following pension reform. As Senate and House members meet, advocates for the bill are expected to demand action.
Same sex couples and their children are remaining optimistic about the law. They are hoping to finally be able to be a family.
If the bill passes, Illinois would become the 10th state to legalize same sex marriage, closely following Maine, Maryland and Washington all of whom passed the law on Election Day 2012. The news of of the bill in Illinois comes shortly after the announcement that the United States Supreme Court will vote sometime in 2013 on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. The act passed during the Clinton Administration and defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
All of the nuts and bolts aside, I think it would be very worthwhile to pass the bill in Illinois, as the law is long overdue.
Action on this issue is needed as soon as possible. How can we call ourselves a free nation if we deprive a select few of their life long happiness with the person they love?
I also believe that the Supreme Court should and will find the Defense of Mariage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional as it deprives the LGBT community their freedom that this country was founded upon.
Same sex marriage strengthens families and the fact that they have to fight for their right to spend the rest of their life with the person they love is a travesty.
I believe that twenty years or so from now children learning at RB will be shocked that people in the LGBT community had to fight for what is merely their basic human right.
We’ll know the fate of same sex marriage in Illinois soon, and hopefully it will be a positive outcome for the LGBT community and their families.
