Illinois Senate gets first marriage equality bill
Same-sex marriage for the first time has come to the Illinois state senate.
State Sen. Heather Steans on Thursday filed the Equal Marriage Act, a bill that, if passed, would allow same-sex couples to marry in Illinois and guarantee them the state rights afforded to all married couples, including health care decision-making and hospital visitation rights. The bill also states religious institutions wouldn't be required to perform any marriages inconsistent with their religious practices.
Marriage equality and civil unions bills have been introduced in the House, but this is the first marriage bill to be filed in the Illinois Senate.
While some gay rights advocates hailed the step, Steans' challenger in next year's election--Jim Madigan, the first openly gay person to run for the Illinois senate--called it a publicity stunt orchestrated because she's "faced with a primary challenger who happens to be gay."
With two weeks left in the legislative session, Madigan said gay rights are best served by helping to pass the civil unions bill already introduced in the state House.
"If the civil union bill does not pass in the General Assembly in these final weeks of the legislative session, Senator Steans will have to explain to voters and to the LGBT community why she spent her time preparing a publicity opportunity rather than working to persuade legislators to pass the bill that was already teed up for her by two years of my community's time, money and effort," Madigan said in the release.
Steans said she has long been a supporter for same-sex marriage and was a chief co-sponsor of a Senate bill last year for civil unions. Introducing equal marriage in the senate is "the right thing to do, period," she said, and would benefit support for civil unions.
"Putting an equal marriage bill out there does nothing but persuade people," Steans told RedEye. "It only advances the conversation."
Madigan--who is challenging Steans in the Democratic primary for the 7th District seat, which includes parts of Uptown, Edgewater, Lincoln Square and Rogers Park--was formerly the interim executive director at Equality Illinois and a staff attorney with Lambda Legal.
Equality Illinois released a statement applauding Steans' introduction of the marriage equality bill in the state senate.
"My focus is on building momentum for full equality, so we're willing to work with anyone who is working for equality," Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov told RedEye.
Rep. Greg Harris, who has introduced civil unions and same-sex marriage bills in the House each session for each of the past two general assemblies, also hailed the step.
"This is an important step that we're taking today to have both chambers working in unison to get basic equality and fairness for all of our citizens," Harris said in a press release provided by Steans' office.
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