Gay marriage bill on hold until spring legislative session

SPRINGFIELD -- A leading proponent of legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois said Friday he won’t push a legalization bill in the House until the spring session.

Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said he’ll wait until after new lawmakers are seated, when Democrats will enlarge their majorities in both chambers — to 71-47 over Republicans in the House and 40-19 in the Senate.

There aren’t enough days left in the lame-duck session to pass the proposal, he said.

On Thursday, a Senate panel voted 8-5, split along party lines, in favor of the bill. However, the full Senate, with three supporters missing, adjourned before voting.

Randy Hannig, director of public policy for Equality Illinois, said he remains confident the proposal’s momentum will continue into the spring session.

“The vote yesterday was a milestone victory, but the first step of many. It’s been a hard-fought fight to get to the point we’re at now,” he said.

But gay marriage supporters’ failure to find enough votes during the lame-duck session is a victory for religious freedom advocates, said Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm that focuses on pro-life and religious issues.

Passage in the Senate wouldn’t guarantee the House would also approve same-sex marriage legislation, he said. And some of those likely to have voted for the bill this week are lame-duck legislators who “do not have to answer to voters in the future,” he said.

The Thomas More Society sent a letter to legislators before Thursday’s vote warning them of the bill’s legal ramifications.

Illinois’ current civil union law “allows faith-based adoption agencies, hospitals, and schools to follow their deeply held convictions in regard to employment, facilities rental, and other decisions,” the letter states. “Under the proposed act, threat of being charged with Illinois Human Rights Act violations will unconstitutionally coerce acceptance of same-sex unions.”

“The main impact is that it brands people of faith with the label of bigotry and discrimination,” Breen said.

All of the committee’s Republicans voted against the bill Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said the bill’s language regarding whether clergy would be exempt from the requirement to perform same-sex marriages is a “legitimate concern.” However, she added, she believes a compromise can be reached.

Both Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, and Harris, the bill’s chief sponsors, said they are willing to discuss changes to add support for the proposal.

The matter is now a “question of when we do, not if we do it,” Steans said Thursday.

If the legislation ultimately passes, Illinois could become the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage — and the fourth to do so in the past few months, after Washington, Maryland, and Maine.

Lauren Leone-Cross can be reached at (217) 782-6292.