Illinois legilature to vote on same-sex marriage bill

[scream4ever]

A vote in the Senate could come as early as tomorrow, with a vote in the House early next week. Updates will come as they occur. These are exciting times indeed!

[Rolyo85]

Illinois is also Obama's home state, and he personally encouraged the legislator to get on with it. As a Chicagoan, I'm super excited!

[chance1]

I guess it's all about mobilization and who has it

str8 (no pun intended) poll says we win right ?

well Chicago's Cardinal Francis George + 6 auxiliary (whatever that means) bishops are trying to rev up opposition - yech
I'm a Catholic and anecdotally Catholics are increasingly live and let live - heard on O'Reilly that Obama won Catholics 50-48 this past November vs. Romney which surprised him because of the President's view on contraception and Obamacare/Catholic institutions

anyway - they should abide by the people's will and stay out of it


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,1703693.story

on a positive note, Jesse Tyler Ferguson is working for us in Illinois - personally I prefer Cam (in the show that is)

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...cal&id=8939315

[chrisrobin]

well Chicago's Cardinal Francis George + 6 auxiliary (whatever that means) bishops are trying to rev up opposition - yech
I'm a Catholic and anecdotally Catholics are increasingly live and let live - heard on O'Reilly that Obama won Catholics 50-48 this past November vs. Romney which surprised him because of the President's view on contraception and Obamacare/Catholic institutions

anyway - they should abide by the people's will and stay out of it

Cardinal George, Same-Sex Marriage and the Law of Nature or
the Irrelevance of the Roman Catholic Church

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffr...ago&ir=Chicago

Perhaps Cardinal George is against the Law of Jesus:

If Cardinal George wants to invoke the law of "nature," then perhaps he should invoke Jesus: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). This precept, which is found in one form or another is virtually every religious and ethical tradition, is a pretty good law of "nature." Apply that one to the issue of same-sex marriage.

[mightbe]

Chance, if you want to be taken seriously, don't mention that you get your info from O'Reilly. It's not very becoming.

It is great to hear another state that will (most likely) pass. Hopefully more will follow in the coming months, but I won't hold my breath for the South.

[chrisrobin]

Chance, if you want to be taken seriously, don't mention that you get your info from O'Reilly. It's not very becoming.

"Tide comes in - tide goes out."

It is great to hear another state that will (most likely) pass.

I thought the passage of the Civil Unions bill in Illinois was merely a stepping stone for the "real thing."

Hopefully more will follow in the coming months, but I won't hold my breath for the South.

I hope so too, but never hold your breath for the South.

[chance1]

Chance, if you want to be taken seriously, don't mention that you get your info from O'Reilly. It's not very becoming.

It is great to hear another state that will (most likely) pass. Hopefully more will follow in the coming months, but I won't hold my breath for the South.

Tough crowd . It's data mightbe - not opinion - 50-48 Catholics for Obama

That tells u something about Catholics as a voting block - they're not wedded to church ideology

As a catholic myself and with many catholic friends anecdotally it feels even more anti church dogma

I hope to be more "becoming" in the future

Or is that "begoing"

[Rolyo85]

The people should have absolutely no say on gay marriage, but that's for another topic.

And Mitchell is SO much more awesome than Cam. He won me over at the second episode, where he tells the audience he was a jock at school and then dusts his sleeve...

[Rolyo85]

Wow O.o

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles is calling GOP lawmakers asking them to support a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, he said today. Brady said he was making the calls as a citizen, outside of his official role with the Illinois Republican Party. "I think it's time for people to support this," Brady said.

[mightbe]

I second that. Is it a first? A sitting Republican in a leadership position endorsing us?

[Rolyo85]

I predict that by 2016, whoever is the Republican candidate for the Presidency, will be faced with at least 20 states with marriage equality, and will have no choice but to be in support of us.

[lambdaboy]

As an American and now also British Citizen, I wonder how many Americans realize that gay marriage has none of the benefits of a str8 marriage from Taxes to Social Security. My partner and I have a civil partnership in England and have the same rights as a str8 couple.

[Rolyo85]

We can't get to 20 without some amendment repeals.

It will more likely be 13 to 16 by then, and those are the likely states without amendments. Hopefully, amendment repeals in Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, and Nevada will be possible this decade, bringing us to a possible 21 by 2020.

Actually, we can get to 20 with only 2 amendment repeals OR a SCOTUS decision (there are still states whose constitution prohibits interracial marriage, it just doesn't matter). And up until November 6, 2012, we had never had a win on the ballot. Suddenly we had FIVE. I think things will progress faster and faster now, not at the speed they have in the last decade. It has become a front-and-center issue, and everyone can feel that a major change is just beyond the horizon. Especially if DOMA falls in June.

[bankside]

If you are referring to DOMA, then you are correct, and even if it were repealed or struck down, a civil union would not get federal marriage benefits.

Depends on the reason why it would be struck down. If the court held that DOMA violated the inherent equality of same-sex marriages, then all of the protections would apply.

[Rolyo85]

If we won 5 ballots, we will win others too, and it only takes a ballot win to repeal a constitutional amendment.

[bankside]

To get state benefits, a state law such as Prop 8 would have to be successfully challenged.

Not if the court holds that equal marriage is protected by constitutional right. Everything else is subsidiary to that question.

[bankside]

I see your point. The question of marriage-as-a-right could arise from a non-DOMA case, then, could it not? A finding that state constitutions must compel the granting of marriage on an equal basis because the national constitution demands equality and is supreme under Article Six over any state regime that differs.

[ZeFrenchy]

We're having the same fight in France. I never thought that France was such a conservative country but it obviously is. Good luck for your fight guys.

[scream4ever]

Not all states have a constitutional initiative process. Maryland doesn't. Oregon does. I'm not sure about Wisconsin or Michigan. If they don't, it requires an act of the legislature to put the question on the ballot.

Oregon does have such a process. They just have to start collecting signatures. Wisconsin doesn't though, and would require two consecutive votes by the legislature before going to the voters.

[Rolyo85]

Illinois might be voting on it TODAY