The heavily Democratic Illinois Senate voted mostly along party lines Thursday to approve a bill redefining marriage in the state to include homosexual couples. The vote was 34-21, with three Democrats voting against the bill and only one Republican voting for it. Two additional Democrats voted “present.”
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, who is Catholic, has been publicly urging passage of a same-sex “marriage” bill for months, despite his Church’s strong opposition. If the bill passes the House for Quinn’s signature, Illinois would become the nation’s tenth state to allow same-sex “marriages,” along with the District of Columbia.
“Today, we are one step closer to marriage equality in Illinois,” said Governor Quinn on Thursday. “Couples across Illinois have even more reason today to celebrate their love for each other, thanks to the hard work of committed advocates and lawmakers. This historic legislation will strengthen our state by allowing all committed couples to enjoy the same legal protections and benefits of marriage.”
President Barack Obama has thrown his public support behind the move to legalize gay marriage in his adopted home state, issuing a recent White House statement saying that if he were still in the Illinois legislature, he would vote for it.
The legislation will now move to the House, but it was unclear when the issue might be taken up there, or whether it was likely to pass. Although the House is also under Democratic control, support for legalized same-sex “marriage” in that chamber is said to be less robust.
In addition to the expected Republican opposition, it is likely that some black Democratic legislators from Chicago will vote against the measure under pressure from a number of black pastors who have joined Illinois Catholic bishops in expressing strong opposition to state-sanctioned gay “marriage.”
Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Peoria Catholic Diocese has planned a “lobby day” in Springfield next Wednesday and is urging Catholic faithful to express their opposition to the bill in person. The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is mobilizing Evangelical and other Christians to join the protest.
“If we hope to defeat this bill in the Illinois House and maintain a sufficient level of opposition to this proposal, we must have a strong showing next week,” the group said in a statement.
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