The Illinois Senate delayed vote Thursday on a bill to possibly legalize same-sex marriage. Even though the measure passed a committee vote of 8-5, there were not enough Senate members present at the lame-duck session for a full floor vote.
Illustration by Chi-Town Review
Illinois could be the 10th state to legalize gay marriage, if the Senate votes on the bill.
Instead, Senate members spent hours doing other things such as commemorating outgoing leaders, as eager hopefuls watched on, NBC News reported. The body then canceled Friday’s schedule.
The 97th assembly ends Tuesday, January 8, with new members sworn in the next day. If the lawmakers don’t pass the bill, it will be in the next group’s hands.
The delay is good news for some of the bill’s opponents.
Cardinal Francis George released a letter urging local Catholics to follow the bill’s process and write to state leaders in opposition.
“Should the lame duck legislature or the new Assembly take up the passage of a “same-sex marriage” law, it will be acting against the common good of society. We will all have to pretend to accept something that is contrary to the common sense of the human race.”
The cardinal added: “When the ways of nature and nature’s God conflict with civil law, society is in danger. It is to that danger that we direct your attention.”
But Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor, told the Chicago Tribune she’s confident the Bill will pass. It has the numbers, she said, with Democrats leading the current legislature and the next.
“This is definitely a question of when, not if,” Steans told NBC Chicago.
If passed, Illinois would be the 10th state (plus Washington D.C.) to recognize gay marriage as a legal union. The General Assembly voted in favor of same-sex civil unions last year.
