Civil Unions in Illinois this year?!
It turns out there are now TWO marriage related bills in the Illinois legislature this year. One is the original marriage bill that I already mentioned and the second is a civil union bill. Most importantly, I’m being told that WE MIGHT ACTUALLY PASS the civil union bill THIS YEAR.
Below is a quick briefing from Allie Carter with Equal Marriage Illinois. Apparently, the hearing mentioned below was delayed one week, but everything else should still be accurate.
Philip-
I got permission to send you the media advisory. Here’s my take:
House Services Committee to Vote on Civil Unions Bill
Several weeks ago, Rep. Greg Harris filed a historic piece of
legislation to end the denial of marriage to LGBT couples in Illinois.
However, despite his tremendous efforts, he and the other sponsors
simply could not find enough support to move the bill out of committee.What Rep. Harris did discover was the potential to pass, this year, a
comprehensive civil unions bill. This bill represents an enormous step
towards full equality for gays and lesbians, and will guarantee many of
the rights and benefits needed by LGBT families in Illinois.While there is a great deal of work to be done, I am told that this bill
has a great deal of support through out both chambers - and has a real
chance of passing this year. While full marriage equality is, obviously,
our goal, I think this legislation will add momentum to the fight and
move us closer.Allie
P.S. I’m attaching a copy of the media advisory. Below are Rick Garcia’s
comments on the bills:The Religious Freedom & Marriage Fairness Act (HB1615) sponsored
by Representatives Greg Harris (D-Ravenswood), Constance Howard
(D-Chicago), Sara Feigenholtz (D-Lakeview) and Harry Osterman
(D-Edgewater) has been assigned to the House Human Services
Committee.Unfortunately, we do not have the necessary votes to pass this
bill out of committee at this time — but we continue to educate
legislators and their communities on the importance of equal
marriage for glbt Illinoisans.A comprehensive Civil Union Act (HB 1826) has also been introduced
by Rep. Harris and is co-sponsored by more than a dozen members of
the Illinois House. This bill is assigned to the House Human
Services Committee and a hearing and committee vote is scheduled
for Wednesday, March 14, 8 a.m. in Room D-1 of the Stratton
Building in Springfield.This bill has an excellent chance of passing the committee on
Wednesday and going to the full House of Representatives for
consideration.For copies of the bills, list of their sponsors, list of committee
members and schedules please go to www.ilga.gov
.