Here's hoping this sails thru to passage ~ Sooz

Valentine’s Day Sweet For Illinois Same Sex Couples – Marriage Equality Set To Pass
2013/02/13
By Wendi Petit

This year’s Valentine’s Day will be a day full of sweets and flowers. It will be one that is especially sweet for gay and lesbian couples in Illinois. The Illinois legislature will be voting on a bill that would allow marriage for same-sex couples. It will be the tenth state in the nation to do so.

Several LGBT rights groups, businesses and even religious organizations have all stated that they support a legal union between couples of the same sex. Polls in Illinois also show strong support for same-sex marriage. But are all of the elements there to get it passed in the state legislature? It appears so. There was a bit of a test run earlier this year when State Senator Heather Steans tried to get the bill passed in the lame duck session. The bill made it out of the Senate Executive Committee, but time ran out before any further action could be taken.

This time around, it was full steam ahead. The bill was filed on January 9th, the first day of the new legislative session. By February 5th, it passed out of the Senate Committee it was assigned to, and it was scheduled for a second reading. (Once a bill is passed out of committee and given a second reading, it has a very good chance of coming up for a full vote.) Since then, a few more sponsors have been added, and it’s now scheduled for a third reading.

In the meantime, gay rights and human rights advocates have been promoting the bill. This includes Illinois Unites for Marriage, Equality Illinois, ACLU of Illinois, Lambda Legal, Freedom to Marry, and Human Rights Campaign. Even Illinois’ Governor, Pat Quinn showed his support. He was a speaker at the recent Equality Illinois Gala.

While there is some opposition to the change by some in the GOP, the vast majority concedes that the bill will pass. Instead of openly opposing it, they are supporting the move so that it passes quickly. They realize that the Democratic super majority prevents them from doing anything about it. So it appears that nothing will prevent cupid’s arrow from making Valentines’ Day a happy one for Illinois’ same sex couples. After all, love does not discriminate – why should the law?

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/02/13/valentines-day-sweet-for-illinois-same-sex-couples-marriage-equality-set-to-pass/

WOOO HOOO! ~ half-way there! ~ Sooz

BREAKING: Illinois Senate Approves Marriage Equality
By Zack Ford on Feb 14, 2013 at 3:07 pm

As expected, the Illinois Senate has sent a very sweet Valentine to same-sex couples by approving marriage equality legislation with a vote of 34-21 (plus 2 voting “present”). Before passage, an amendment was added to the bill carving out an exception allowing churches to not have their facilities used in the solemnization or celebration of a same-sex wedding. The bill now heads to the House where it also has strong support from the Democratic majority. Though the Catholic Church and conservative evangelical groups oppose the bill, polling shows that most Illinois voters support marriage equality. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) is committed to signing the bill into law, which will make Illinois the 10th state granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/02/14/1596381/breaking-illinois-senate-approves-marriage-equality/

Way to go, Illinois !!!!!

Cool!