Not too long ago, the freedom for same sex couples to marry and enjoy a legal wedding was granted in the state of Illinois. This happened on November, 20th of 2013 when Governor Pat Quinn signed the marriage equality into law, following the approval of the House and the state Senate. There were many marriage supporters who were instrumental in changing the state of Illinois Gay Marriage. A coalition of these supporters formed Illinois Unites for Marriage and urged legislators to make the change.
Following federal pressure, many of the marriages that were postponed until June of 2014 were able to proceed as early as February 2014.
The success in Illinois began in 2011. At that time, Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. This had been approved by the legislature of Illinois in December 2010. Just over a year later, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act was introduced to the House. Many powerful state leaders gave their support to this act, but the bill stalled.
In 2013, the issue was once again brought up and marriage bills were introduced to the both house of the legislature in Illinois. On February 14, the bill was passed in the IL Senate. It hit another bump when the session ended before the House voted on the bill. However, during a fall veto session, the House voted in favor of marriage freedom.
Advocacy for the marriage rights of homosexual couples continues in the state. Groups such as Illinois Unites for Marriage, Equality Illinois, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, Lambda Legal, and the Freedom to Marry campaign are continuing their work to defend Illinois Gay Marriage.
So far, there are 23,049 same sex couples living in Illinois. At least half of the state’s residents support same sex marriage and only 29% oppose the freedom to marry. The fight for Illinois Gay Marriage is gaining success and growing strong.
