IL: Quinn calls on House to send him gay marriage bill

Supporters have said they are closing in on the 60 House votes required to send the bill to Quinn. But backers also are not expected to call the bill until they're sure they have enough votes lined up to pass it. The thinking is that gay marriage supporters don't want to ask allies to take what for some is a tough vote politically if the measure is going to fail because that would make it more dif...

Chicago Tribune • May 10, 2013

Illinois gay marriage bill clears first of many hurdles

An Illinois Senate committee advanced a same-sex marriage bill 9-5. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, next moves to the full Senate, where backers indicated it could come up for a vote on Valentine's Day....

Chicago Tribune • Feb 5, 2013

Illinois business leaders endorse gay marriage

State lawmakers aren't scheduled to be at the Capitol much until early February, and sponsors of a measure to grant gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry are likely to need some time to win over dozens of rookie colleagues. But in an open letter issued Sunday, business executives stated their case to lawmakers that marriage equality would strengthen the Illinois workforce and boost economic...

Chicago Tribune • Jan 15, 2013

Supporters say they're close to passing gay marriage in Illinois

The two have to muster 60 House votes and 30 Senate votes. If that happens, Quinn has indicated he would sign the bill into law. Such a measure would take effect in the summer, the lawmakers said. The measure also would recognize gay marriages performed in other states, they said. ...

Chicago Tribune • Dec 14, 2012

Group argues to join gay marriage lawsuit

Bryan Beauman, an attorney representing the Illinois Family Institute, said that allowing the organization -- which opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions -- to defend the state's marriage law would "even the playing field." Two lawsuits -- which were later joined into one -- were filed in May by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the gay rights group Lambda Legal. The Cook C...

Chicago Tribune • Sep 28, 2012

Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No deal

A Chicago alderman wants to kill Chick-fil-A's plans to build a restaurant in his increasingly trendy Northwest Side ward because the fast-food chain's top executive vocally opposes gay marriage. Ald.Proco "Joe" Moreno announced this week that he will block Chick-fil-A's effort to build its second Chicago store, which would be in the Logan Square neighborhood, following company President Dan Cath...

Chicago Tribune • Jul 25, 2012

Immigrant files proposed class action suit over U.S. gay marriage ban

A Philippine immigrant filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking a legal right to stay in the United States based on her same-sex marriage to an American. The suit seeks to win for gays and lesbians the same immigration rights as heterosexual couples. The group that helped file the suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called it the first proposed class action of its kind....

Chicago Tribune • Jul 13, 2012

Attorney general backs challenges to gay marriage ban

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has filed a notice in Cook County Circuit Court saying it will present arguments in support of two lawsuits that question the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban. ...

Chicago Tribune • Jun 4, 2012

Lawsuits challenge Illinois gay marriage ban

The gay rights group Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois each filed a lawsuit today against the clerk of Cook County, claiming that not issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the Illinois Constitution. ...

Chicago Tribune • May 30, 2012

Governor backs gay marriage in Illinois

A day after President Barack Obama endorsed equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn made it clear that he stands with the president on the politically divisive issue of marriage equality. The governor signed a bill legalizing civil unions in Illinois last year but has long been vague about whether he supports same-sex marriage. On Thursday, a Quinn spokeswoman l...

Chicago Tribune • May 11, 2012

Washington state gay marriage opponents begin signature drive

Preserve Marriage Washington, a coalition that opposes gay marriage, aims to collect 120,577 signatures by June 6 to place a ballot measure before voters in November seeking to repeal Washington's law, the group said....

Chicago Tribune • Mar 15, 2012

Illinois push begins for gay marriage, amid much skepticism

The conventional wisdom in Springfield is that lawmakers will first focus on winning March 20 primary contests as they run in new districts and then attempt to pass a budget and escape the spring session taking as few controversial votes as possible. ...

Chicago Tribune • Feb 21, 2012

Emanuel backs Illinois gay marriage measure

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today said he would press for legislation pending in Springfield that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. "I'll push for it because it is consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that I think is right as a city, as a state and as a country," said Emanuel, who supported gay marriage during the campaign....

Chicago Tribune • Feb 15, 2012

With same-sex marriage victories on their side, gay rights advocates picket Holy Name

The sidewalk outside the downtown church is popular territory for protests, but some participants said they felt special hope because of victories in two other states and the introduction of the same-sex marriage bill in Springfield on Wednesday. Washington state lawmakers approved a gay marriage bill Wednesday, and appeals judges struck down California's same-sex marriage ban Tuesday. ...

Chicago Tribune • Feb 13, 2012

Gay marriage opponent: We've raised $1 million already for referendum

"Yesterday, there was a commitment of $1 million made to this campaign," said Joe Fuiten, senior pastor of the Cedar Park Assembly of God Church in Bothell. Fuiten is part of a coalition to overturn the likely gay marriage law. When asked who contributed the money, Fuiten said: "I'm not going to say, but it's been committed."...

Chicago Tribune • Feb 4, 2012

Washington state Senate passes gay marriage bill

The Washington state Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to legalize gay marriage in a highly charged vote that moved the state closer to joining six others and the District of Columbia in recognizing same-sex nuptials. The 28-21 vote in favor of the measure -- three more votes than needed for passage -- sent it on to the state's House of Representatives, where the bill is expected to win swif...

Chicago Tribune • Feb 2, 2012

Gay marriage play '8' goes national during 2012

The pro-gay marriage American Foundation for Equal Rights and partner Broadway Impact are sponsoring dozens of productions of Dustin Lance Black's play starring local actors across the country this election year. It'll be shown in states where marriage battles loom, including Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire and North Carolina. ...

Chicago Tribune • Jan 17, 2012

Demand still strong for civil union licenses in Cook County

On June 1, the day the civil unions law kicked in, the clerk's offices handed out 209 licenses. Since then the numbers have been smaller but steady, averaging 30 licenses per day from June 2 to June 30. ...

Chicago Tribune • Jul 19, 2011

As Catholic Charities bows out of foster care, secular agency steps up

State officials have been exploring whether religious agencies that get public money to license foster care parents are breaking anti-discrimination laws if they turn away openly gay parents. In addition to Catholic Charities in five regions, Lutheran Child and Family Services and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency have policies that exclude prospective parents who are openly gay. The religi...

Chicago Tribune • Jul 5, 2011

State says they can, so same-sex couples say 'I do'

Illinois is the sixth state to allow civil unions or their equivalent, which provide same-sex or opposite-sex couples the same state-level rights as married couples. Wednesday was the first day couples could get civil union licenses and, as with marriage, there is a one-day waiting period before a ceremony can be held. Outside one of the park entrances Thursday about a half-dozen protesters stood...

Chicago Tribune • Jun 3, 2011

Ind. lawmakers push for gay marriage amendment

Republican lawmakers in Indiana have resumed their push for a constitutional amendment that would shore up an existing state law banning gay marriage. A GOP-ruled House committee voted 8-4 along party lines today to advance the proposal, which now moves to the full House for consideration....

Chicago Tribune • Feb 8, 2011

Gay marriage in Iowa: Court ruling gives hope that Illinois could follow

"I think what we're seeing now is people greeting this progress as an opportunity to do marriage the way they always envisioned it, not under the pressure caused by newness or the threat that it might, at any moment, be taken away," said Evan Wolfson, executive director of the national advocacy group Freedom To Marry. "In some sense, I think we're seeing a more normalized response on the part of g...

Chicago Tribune • Apr 29, 2009

NH Sen. committee takes up gay marriage bill

At least 500 people crowded into New Hampshire's Statehouse on Wednesday for an emotional and sometimes boisterous Senate committee hearing over whether allowing gay marriage would weaken or strengthen the institution....

Chicago Tribune • Apr 15, 2009

Illinois gays not betting on marriage

Advocates for the gay and lesbian community in Illinois are rallying behind a civil unions bill sponsored by state Rep. Greg Harris (D- Chicago). The bill, which would grant same-sex couples many of the same rights as married couples, awaits a vote in the House and would then need to clear the Senate. This political path is similar to that taken by activists in Vermont, where gay marriage was leg...

Chicago Tribune • Apr 14, 2009

Wis. high court asked to review gay marriage vote

The Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked Thursday to decide whether the state's 2006 ban on gay marriage was properly put to voters. William McConkey, a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh political science instructor, claims the referendum illegally put two issues to voters at the same time: whether to ban gay marriage and whether to outlaw civil unions. A Dane County judge dismissed the case last year...

Chicago Tribune • Apr 12, 2009

Lutheran task force recommends changing gay-clergy policy

If the assembly rejects the first measure to recognize monogamous gay unions, the remaining three will die. If the assembly approves, members will be asked if they want to permit clergy in committed same-gender relationships to work in churches that invite them to serve. The third step asks the church to respect the bound conscience of those who disagree. The fourth calls for change in policy tha...

Chicago Tribune • Feb 21, 2009