美伊利諾州成為第十五個承認同志婚姻的州 - 同志

如題，新聞來源：http://goo.gl/qCUqc9


我有點太興奮，還沒仔細看完新聞，不過看了導言應該是大致牴定了

目前是通過了眾議院的部份。

其實就算是國外，路途還是很漫長需要耐心實現的

多一點討論也是多一點將法案更完備的方式



Illinois Sends Bill Allowing Gay Marriage to Governor
By MONICA DAVEY and STEVEN YACCINO
Published: November 5, 2013


The Illinois House of Representatives voted Tuesday to allow same-sex couples
to wed, ending months of delay over the issue in the Capitol and clearing the
way for Illinois to become the 15th state, along with the District of
Columbia, to permit gay couples to marry.

The vote was 61 to 54, mostly along partisan lines, with only three
Republicans voting yes.

“In Illinois, we tried civil unions and that separate status has time and
time again proved to fall short,” said State Representative Greg Harris, a
sponsor of the bill, urging his House colleagues to approve the measure on
Tuesday.

The measure passed the Illinois Senate in February, but for procedural
reasons it had to be voted on there again. On Tuesday, the Senate quickly
approved changes the House made to the bill, sending it to the desk of Gov.
Pat Quinn, a Democrat who has said he will sign it. Illinois couples could
begin marrying on June 1.

The outcome itself was perhaps less surprising than how long and difficult
the debate had proved in a state with both legislative chambers controlled by
Democrats and where President Obama, once a member of the State Senate,
specifically voiced his support this year. Illinois already permits civil
unions for same-sex couples, but even as a wave of state legislatures passed
marriage provisions this year, the issue had stalled.

“We were aiming for this to happen a year ago,” said Bernard Cherkasov, the
chief executive of Equality Illinois. In May, in the final hours of the State
House’s regular session, a leading advocate of the bill reluctantly and
tearfully announced that he would delay plans for a vote, suggesting that
there were not yet enough votes to pass it.

“In many ways, it has taken longer than we expected,” Mr. Cherkasov said.

Despite Democratic control of both chambers, the issue had been particularly
vexing for some Democrats in socially conservative districts outside Chicago
and for some black Democrats in Chicago, where some clergy members have
suggested that those supporting gay marriage should prepare for election
challenges next year.

“We’re prepared to run and elect people who vote where the people’s minds
are,” said Bishop Larry Trotter, senior pastor of the Sweet Holy Spirit
Church in Chicago and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Mr. Trotter said he
believed that most black residents agreed with him, even if it conflicts with
the stance of Mr. Obama.

“We love him,” Mr. Trotter said of Mr. Obama. “We want him to be a great
president. But on this issue we differ. It’s unfortunate that he is our
hero, he is a hometown boy, but I think he needs to understand that when he
speaks for this he’s not speaking for the majority of people.”

Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Democratic state representative from downstate Peoria
who is black, had not announced how she would vote until this week. Deciding
to vote in favor of same-sex marriage, she said in an interview, “took some
guts.”

Ultimately, she said, she viewed the issue in light of work her mother had
done in the Peoria community on civil rights. “Our history is about moving
the dial toward justice, and I see this as another part of that,” she said.

Ms. Gordon-Booth, who was first elected in 2008, said that she intended to
seek re-election next year and that she expected she might well now find
competition. “Could I end up in a race? You better believe it. But I prayed
on this. And I don’t worry about it anymore.”

Political analysts said it was uncertain how serious the political fallout
would prove to be. Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science
at the University of Illinois at Springfield, questioned whether Democratic
leaders like Michael J. Madigan, the longtime speaker of the House, would
have called a vote had they believed it would cause too many election risks
for Democrats.

Much has changed in the months since backers of same-sex marriage began
pressing lawmakers in Springfield to go a step beyond the civil unions that
have been permitted since 2011. Last fall, voters approved marriage measures
in Maryland, Maine and Washington, and lawmakers in Delaware, Rhode Island
and Minnesota passed laws this year. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey
withdrew his efforts to block same-sex marriage, and weddings began in that
state last month.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.

--