Illinois Senate votes to legalize gay marriage
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois moved closer Thursday to becoming the 10th state in the nation where same-sex couples can legally wed, after the Senate voted to lift a ban on gay marriage.
Senators voted 34-21 to approve the measure, sending it on to the state House where Democrats also hold a majority. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has said he will sign the bill if the House approves it.
Before approving the measure, the Senate attached an amendment Thursday that explicitly states no church or other religious organization will be forced to solemnize same-sex marriages. It also says churches cannot be sued if they don't allow their parishes to be used for same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Some Republicans raised concerns that the bill would force religious organizations to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their fellowship halls, parish centers or even in their sanctuaries. But Sen. Heather Steans, the bill sponsor, said even before the amendment was added that the bill made clear churches won't be forced to perform same-sex marriages.
The Valentine's Day vote marked the first time gay marriage has passed on the floor of either chamber of the Legislature. Steans and other supporters tried to pass it during the January lame duck session. But after getting approval from a Senate committee, Steans opted not to call for floor action, saying it didn't have enough votes.
After picking up seats in November, Democrats entered the current legislative session with control of 40 seats in the Senate, where 30 votes are required to advance most measures. The Senate Executive Committee approved the gay marriage bill on a party-line vote last week, setting up the Valentine's Day floor action.
Jim Bennett, regional director for Lambda Legal, said supporting same-sex marriage is "both politically smart and morally right."
Polls show voters' feelings shifting rapidly in favor of gay rights. President Barack Obama said last year he supports same-sex marriage, and in November voters in four states either approved or voted down bans on gay marriage.
"I think it's a safer vote to vote with us than to vote against us at this point," Bennett said.
The issue has caused internal conflict among Republicans as the party works balance its efforts to appeal more to younger voters, minorities and women with the more socially conservative positions of some members.
After Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady announced his support for gay marriage during the lame-duck legislative session, saying it was a civil rights issue, some Republicans called for his ouster. Opponents of gay marriage pledged to fund primary challenges to any Republican who voted in favor of the bill.
Thursday's vote came two years after Illinois lawmakers approved civil unions, which provide legal recognition of a partnership between two people, regardless of gender. But gay marriage supporters said it wasn't enough.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
2/14/2013 12:18:59 PM (GMT -8:00)
Senators voted 34-21 to approve the measure, sending it on to the state House where Democrats also hold a majority. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has said he will sign the bill if the House approves it.
Before approving the measure, the Senate attached an amendment Thursday that explicitly states no church or other religious organization will be forced to solemnize same-sex marriages. It also says churches cannot be sued if they don't allow their parishes to be used for same-sex marriage ceremonies.
Some Republicans raised concerns that the bill would force religious organizations to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their fellowship halls, parish centers or even in their sanctuaries. But Sen. Heather Steans, the bill sponsor, said even before the amendment was added that the bill made clear churches won't be forced to perform same-sex marriages.
The Valentine's Day vote marked the first time gay marriage has passed on the floor of either chamber of the Legislature. Steans and other supporters tried to pass it during the January lame duck session. But after getting approval from a Senate committee, Steans opted not to call for floor action, saying it didn't have enough votes.
After picking up seats in November, Democrats entered the current legislative session with control of 40 seats in the Senate, where 30 votes are required to advance most measures. The Senate Executive Committee approved the gay marriage bill on a party-line vote last week, setting up the Valentine's Day floor action.
Jim Bennett, regional director for Lambda Legal, said supporting same-sex marriage is "both politically smart and morally right."
Polls show voters' feelings shifting rapidly in favor of gay rights. President Barack Obama said last year he supports same-sex marriage, and in November voters in four states either approved or voted down bans on gay marriage.
"I think it's a safer vote to vote with us than to vote against us at this point," Bennett said.
The issue has caused internal conflict among Republicans as the party works balance its efforts to appeal more to younger voters, minorities and women with the more socially conservative positions of some members.
After Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady announced his support for gay marriage during the lame-duck legislative session, saying it was a civil rights issue, some Republicans called for his ouster. Opponents of gay marriage pledged to fund primary challenges to any Republican who voted in favor of the bill.
Thursday's vote came two years after Illinois lawmakers approved civil unions, which provide legal recognition of a partnership between two people, regardless of gender. But gay marriage supporters said it wasn't enough.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
2/14/2013 12:18:59 PM (GMT -8:00)
Same sex marriage will be legal, but there will be no shotgun weddings, after all this is Illinois.
If you've ever had an affair or a divorce, don't presume to preach to me about the sanctity of marriage.
This will help obamas third term
Great- politicians over turning what the VOTERS, ya know the one's that pay their wages, put in place..
Next: Â ""I think it's a safer vote to vote with us than to vote against us at this point," Bennett said."
That sounds like a bit of a threat to me.. Vote with us or else...
Lastly "Thursday's vote came two years after Illinois lawmakers approved civil unions, which provide legal recognition of a partnership between two people, regardless of gender. But gay marriage supporters said it wasn't enough."
WHY NOT?  WHY aren't civil unions enough?  If it's just about the same privileges that marriage provides then civil unions SHOULD BE sufficient.Â
They want what has been traditional marriage, IE HOLY MATRIMONY. They want to change what has been in place for a VERY long time... *Shakes head*
I don't care if it becomes legal in all 50 states that will still not make it morally right or equal to traditional marriage. It's just a way to force feed homosexuality down the throats of those that do not agree with it.Â
Something may be LEGAL but that doesn't make it MORAL. Laws are made by men and they are fallible. Laws change all the time so we can't use them as a moral compass.Â
@cwpholder When they came to ask the judges, I blamed it on "Activisim".
When they came to ask the legislature I elected, I blamed it on "vote with us or else"
When they came to the voters, I threw a fit, threatened God's judgement and refused them cake.
When they came to ask me, mine was the only voice heard.
@cwpholder "something may be LEGAL but that doesn't make it MORAL"
It should NEVER be the government's business to legislate its idea of morality. I will always vote for liberty, even if I have no interest in the behavior.
@cwpholder @cwpholder Please allow me to remind you of the spanking that you and your anti-gay friends received this last election.Not only did the voters re-elect our president,they turned down the anti gay marriage ballot measures in four states.The American people are shifting their views in favor of gay marriage.Also,FYI,the voters in Illinois never voted on gay marriage because you and your anti gay friends were unsuccessful in getting enough signatures three different times.Furthermore,a civil marriage license is exactly what you are calling for-- a legal union. In these states, it doesn't matter to the state if its two people of the same or of opposite sexes, as long as you are legally eligible. That's why we call it marriage equality, not hetero marriage or gay marriage. Gay people and straight people are now eligible for exactly the same legal union that you advocate, subject to the same rules and legal standards. Nothing changed for heterosexual unions at all. Gay people now have access to the same legal union. And in case you are wondering, in both cases, religion and your version of morality is completely optional to the parties involved. Atheists, whether gay or straight, also have access to the same legal union.Because of your failure to inform yourself of the realities and the actual issues,you can consider yourself informed now.As a cwp holder myself,I'm surprised you aren't familiar with freedom and liberty for all.We don't like the idea of government dictating to us what kind of guns we can own or when and how we use them so I'm puzzled why you condone the government dictating to American citizens,what kind of legal arraingements they can or cannot enter into.
@noneofyourbizzness "We don't like the idea of government dictating to us what kind of guns we can own or when and how we use them so I'm puzzled why you condone the government dictating to American citizens,what kind of legal arraingements they can or cannot enter into."
EXACTLY!
This should make Rahm a shoe-in for POTUS in 2016
With illegitimate births at record levels, some races exceeding 70% birthrate to unwed mothers, and Marriage being lauded and looked at as old fashioned and unnecessary, I'm beginning to look a gay marriage differently. If this group of people feels that strongly about the sanctity of marriage, and are willing to give marriage the respect that it once held, then why not? Anyone else willing to take notice of the destruction and decay of the family structure, and what the lack of married parents has done to so many children and youth (think gangs) is ok by me.  Â
@last boyscout .Thank you for such a eloquent comment.And thank you from my gay doctor who is raising two beautiful children with her long tiime companion/spouse as well as all of the wonderful gay couples who providing homes for the disadvantaged children here and abroad.Were also talking about hard working professionals who work hard and are quite successful the privlege to marry should be available to upstanding citizens
@noneofyourbizzness @last boyscout ---what's the name of your doctor? And why would you know she was gay?
@The Resistance.I'm not giving you the name of my doctor.Are you f***ing kidding? The last thing she needs is to be harassed and threatened by some freaks.Why would I know she is gay? Because besides being my doctor,we have become very close friends over the years.Close enough to spend Christmas with her and her wonderful family.Any more personal questions that really are Noneofyourbizzness ?
This is what I'm hoping for in Oregon. Allow gay marriage. Don't force churches to do gay marriages, but they can choose to do it if they wish. Allow no law suits in that regard. Either allow this option, or remove every single government legal benefit for being married... no more joint filing, hospital visits, shared health care for spouses, etc.
@Morticae --- and don't force bakers to make homosexual cakes.
@The Resistance You better get busy and have the law changed then.
If homosexuals were to call an apple an apple, they would call âgay marriageâ Sodomitical civil partnership. Yes itâs so ridicules, however accurate, no one would pay any attention to them. Thatâs why they have to lie changing the meaning of words. Clever, but not everyone falls for it
@3X07 "Sodomitical"
What a cunning linguist!
Sorry, Mr. Taliban. You don't get to preach your morality to my friends, and your definition of "marriage" is defunct now that the church allows divorce. Go burn witches or something.
@3X07 You have more issues then any pompous pseudo-righteous blather can cover.
First, marriage predates biblical record, and it's original purpose was to create an ownership record for wives to prove paternity. Men could have multiple wives but not vice-versa. you position is fundamentally misogynist.
Second, we are all sinners, period. Their sin against God is no different then yours of seeking to hold them out of society. you position fundamentally denies the entire Ministry of Jesus Christ.
Third, the civil definition of marriage has changed many times over the years. In Mississippi, interracial marriage remained illegal until 1975. I'm sure you opposed that change as well, since the identical language and "logical" arguments were used then.
If anyone needs to ask for forgiveness, you can find that person by looking in a mirror.
"we are all sinners"
Agreed!
How credible you are misquoting and stereotyping like that.
@3X07 Homosexuality?Thatâs an abomination! Homosexuals arenât just sinners. Theyâre revelers consummating their reprobate mind. Someone please cite one of the Levitical prohibitions against homosexuality (preferably Leviticus 20:13 since it includes the death penalty) and say it in the King James Version for rhetorical effect?
And Christians donât just think homosexuality is the worst sin.They act like it too evidenced by their willingness to condemn gay people's mere existence.No wonder so many gay people think that Christians hate them.They give their sexuality a unique status: the worst sin of all. And because homosexuals are committing the supreme evil, you treat them like pariahs.
As a result, not only do homosexuals think their sin is the worst, but they are the worst. Theyâre the chief of all sinners. Thatâs why your verbal antidotes like, âGod hates the sin, but loves the sinnerâ are so ineffective. They only hear the word, âhate.âAlthough homosexual behavior was a capital crime under the Mosaic Law,you Christians bible thumpers always convenient leave out blasphemy, false prophecy, adultery, bestiality, and many other sins. Under todayâs New Testament teaching, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 places homosexuals among other sinners like thieves, drunks, swindlers, and fornicators. And 1 Timothy 1:8-11 lists them among liars, rebels but picking out homosexuality is convenient to further your agenda to deny freedoms to your fellow Americans.
You shouldnât be surprised, then, when homosexuals hold a grudge and are defiant to your insistence that all of society abide by your religious rules.
intheeyesofGodtheyareallthesamesin
Rightwing eh? Thats your assertion?
@3X07 Except to rightwing christians like yourself there is a sin ladder and homosexuality is on the very top step.Evedinced by picking and choosing homosexuality as sin number one out of drunkards,adulterers,gluttony,judging, ect.
@3X07Â Wow, are you ever in desperate need of a ball gag.
@Festivus @3X07Â
And maybe some sodomizing.
We only need to look at history to know what is true. Or we can bury our heads in the sand (tolerance). We are not going to be able to force a change on the homosexual community. Not going to happen nor is it a goal. We are not able to force a change on gun toting murderers or bank thieves either. What I am say is the change happens inside of us when we turn form our own ways and allow God to changes us individually. Personal revival equals true change. Collectivly we change the direction of the country, good or bad. Then again, what is good and bad?
 I mean no harm talking about the tough stuff but when people are diving off of cliffs you just have to warn them about the cliffs.
@3X07Â Yea, lines like this: "They will destroy that image at the cost of destroying this country and they will succeed because of tolerance..." sort of mask all the love that's supposedly beaming from your heart.
It is true, I am a work in progress.
The message is not of condemnation from I, but repentence of all sin. Sent with love else it wouldn't matter to me. I want you to see the joy of the things that matter not the things of this world.
@3X07Â Grand. Glad he changed your life - but until you can ease up on condemning everyone around you with whom you disagree, I think He still has some work to do.
"Would that have included the city's reputed pass time? I really take heart in the moral lessons I find in the Bible."
Don't take to heart what you don't know!
But know this, Jesus changed my life and he can change yours too. Let Him set you free.
@3X07Â And then Lot, being a man of God said:
'No, my friends. Donât do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But donât do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.'
Genesis 19:6-8
" ...you can do what you like with them..." Would that have included the city's reputed pass time? I really take heart in the moral lessons I find in the Bible.
@3X07
"She was doin' the butt, hey pretty, pretty/When you get that notion, put your backfield in motion, hey/ Doin' the butt, hey sexy, sexy/Ain't nothing wrong if you wanna do the butt all night long" Da Butt
"Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;Â and they called to Lot and said to him, âWhere are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.â Genisis 19
@3X07Â
Oh, darn. Â You're too slick to fall for fancy words meant to convince you that something that can't exist does, in fact, exist. Â Wait a minute, isn't that a perfect description of the Bible? Â Lots of words about an invisible sky bully meant to make otherwise reasonable people do unconscionable things to other people who don't bow to the same sky bully? Â Hm....
"Those who dance seem strange to those who cant hear the music"
@3X07Â One of the major hallmarks of schizophrenia is hearing voices/sounds...
@3X07Â Despite what the TV commercials say, Q-Tips are excellent for improving your hearing. Â So does pulling your head up to the location it belongs -- you're gonna put your back out the way you're doing things now.
@3X07Â
"And the thunder rolls...and the thunder rolls."
Judgment looms as a not so distant storm. Ever wonder why everything is so black and white? Why everyone is so divided? Why people are so set in their ways? Repent. No one can stop the homosexual movement, but God did say he would judge us. Right now we live in His grace and God wants to save us. If we continue to tell God we donât want Him, he will allow those that donât turn from themselves, to perish.
@3X07 That schtick is almost 2000 years old now, isn't it?
Do us a favor and hold your breath.
@3X07Â "Why people are so set in their ways?"
True, we should all be as open minded as thee.
@3X07Â Dominus vobiscum, and a Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. Â Here's one of my favorite bible quotes, but I'm not sure if it works with your argument: Â Deuteronomy 22:13-21: Â 1Â He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. 2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord. Â So unless you can trace your family roots back 10 generations and there's no hanky panky resulting in a less-than-nine-month since-marriage birth, you're not going to heaven anyway. Â Your family that pure? Â Mine isn't.
@3X07 @Sundowner @myopinion240 Getting a purpose from a book of fiction isn't a purpose, it's insanity.
@3X07 @Diogenes @Max QuinnI'm glad you have a purpose.  That reminds me of something Navin Johnson said over and over in "The Jerk" -- something about his purpose.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJJA6WRpvlg
@Sundowner @myopinion240 @3X07 If truth exist, then there is an ultimate truth. When I believed in my own wisdom, I was constantly let down. Jesus is truth without fail. If there is no truth then there is no purpose. I now have a purpose. :)
@myopinion240Â @3X07Â I'm not a "pro-gay" anything, just a straight old(er) female. Â I believe in the right of every person to live their life their way. Â What that means isn't determined by me or you or god or church or religion.....if one believes in god, then he gave them the intelligence to figure that out for themselves. Â As for you saying god would judge us -- that sound perfect. Â You let me worry about my judgment and you can worry about yours. Â And in closing, I would remind you that YOUR book, the one you claim to live by, admonishes those who judge others.
@3X07Â The pro gay posters love to post that one. They feel it defines all of their arguments, and make their arguments valid. NOT. Just ignore their ignorance.
That is a horrible misprint of Gods word. I wonder how many people looked it up.
@3X07Â End of the world because of people having sex that is disagreeable to your god? Â Your god sucks and I am glad I am not close to such an evil being.
@darren vandervort @3X07 ---Yikes!
@3X07Â Guess I'm going to have to go home and tell the wife tonight that we're going to engage in some Gemorrahing, 'cause Sodomy's been taken off the table. Â Damn. Â
@Festivus @3X07Â
Sweeeeeet.
@Diogenes @Festivus @3X07 Yeah, well, that's what YOU think.
As humans we either correct our defiant children or we simply donât. Some people look on that correction or non correction for that matter, as neither here nor there for the most part. God is the ultimate judge. It is by his word we understand homosexual behavior as against Him, not ours. I say today, repent of your ways, do it now. Donât wait, turn to God and ask for his forgiveness. Believe in Jesus as the one who paid the price for that sin and all sins. You know it in your heart. Donât reject the knocking at your door. God (relationship with God not religions) will forgive us of our sins and renew our thinking. Do it and be truly free.
@3X07 If it wasn't for those damn queers,we wouldn't have earthquakes,floods,hurricanes, tornadoes.world hunger,homelessness,war.
@3X07Â If god didn't want gay men, he shouldn't have invented interior decorating.
@Festivus @3X07 If God didn't want sodomy, he shouldn't have created so many asses with holes
@3X07Â Come here defiant child, I need to correct you! Â
Why do they want âgay marriageâ? Because they don't really want "gay marriage", they want to destroy the image of homosexual behaviors as being "wrong". They want the general population to accept their sin against God as natural even though itâs anything but natural. They will destroy that image at the cost of destroying this country and they will succeed because of tolerance. What they really want is to be allowed to do what they want without God saying itâs wrong. The behavior to God is very similar to a spoiled child telling their parent/s âNOâ in defiance.
@3X07 Take your nonsense to Afghanistan, Osama. Unless your name is Jesus or Apollo, you don't get to talk to me about God.
@3X07 God is different to everyone. Their God loves them, your god loves you for being intolerant. Has your god ever actually told you anything or have you just heard what he "thinks" and "feels" by thousand year old men who made it up to get ahead? Our country-mine, yours, everyone's(gays even!) was not founded on religion, it was founded on the thought that religion was a private matter-if anything is destroying this country, it may be argued that it is Religion.
@3X07 @djshimon Funny, my god says the same thing, and she's always right, so there!
@3X07Â @djshimon That's brilliant right there.
@djshimon @3X07 The God I believe in declares Himself as the I AM. There is only one truth.
@3X07Â Well dressed men, and women with short hair are the last thing I see destroying this country. Â You deary, are top of that list.
@3X07Â You really didn't read the comment very well, now did you? Â Probably about as well as you read the Bible, I'd imagine...
@str1ngb3nd3r @3X07 I don't dress nice.Flannel with some Levis. Maybe a cut off shirt exposing my mid drift.Â
@3X07 May not know how you dress, but would I be mistaken in assuming you frequently get wedgies throughout the day? Â
Do you reach behind often to spread and tug?Â
Wait, What? Top of the list because I have short hair and dress nice? Most likely you have never laid eyes on me so how can you know how I dress?
There is no such thing as gay marriage. A term once used to describe "happy" was pirated within the last couple of decades to mean homosexual, especially in men. Marriage is rooted in biblical teachings structuring social moral behaviors between a man and a woman. Marriage also results in procreation populating societies and the world. Marriage also is a physical picture of a spiritual relationship between God and his people. God desires relationship with us. Again this term "marriage is being pirated by the homosexuals.
@3X07Â Good point. The homosexuals have perverted a word that used to mean "happy". Then they go and use it in vain by connecting to the word "marriage".Â
They also stole "queer." And my favorite Kool & the Gang song. And don't even get me started on what they did to "teabag."
@Max Quinn @3X07 ---- Max you crack me up. Thanks for the laugh.
@Max Quinn @3X07 I had a boss who had an old magazine ad from the '60s that showed a skinny housewife in a skirt with the caption
"MYDOL MAKES ME GAY!"Â Â
@Festivus @Max Quinn @3X07 aw shucks so if I teabag my girlfriend i'm gay? oh well, it feels good
@Max Quinn @3X07 Hah!  Brings a whole new meaning to requesting a cup of Earl Grey, doesn't it?