Gay Marriage in Illinois
Sam Churchill & Chloe Rickman
Interview with Sam's Aunt Cindy:
How old are you and what do you do for a living?
- I am 56. I am the athletic director at Illinois State University.
How have the laws in the past prohibiting gay marriage affected you?
- They haven't really affected me personally. I am single but for my friends that wanted to get married and have the benefits that come from being married I know that the old laws really affected them.
Do you ever feel like you are discriminated against because of your sexuality?
- Yes, I have been looked upon funny when I am out on a date with a woman.
Do you ever plan on marrying now that the laws in Illinois allow it?
- If I fell in love and found my life partner without question, absolutely I would get married. I believe in the sanctity of marriage.
Why This Topic Is Meaningful?
This is important to Chloe and I because we both have relatives that were somewhat affected by this law. My Aunt that I interviewed previously was affected by same-sex marriage laws (especially her friends) before the law was put into place. Chloe's family is also affected by this law in being that she has a gay cousin who previously just got married the summer of 2015. This is important to many of our classmates as well, who have family who were also affected by this before the law was passed. This is a state issue and involved not only "gay people" but also all citizens to vote and get 3/5ths of those votes to ratify the law. June 1 marks the day counties in Illinois had to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses under legislation signed into law.
Gay Marriage March- Downtown Chicago
Activists rally in support of gay marriage on March 25. The Illinois Senate has approved legislation that will legalize same-sex marriage, but it was stalled in the state House.
Legalization of Same-Sex marriage
The Illinois' General Assembly passed the bill allowing for same-sex marriage in the state of Illinois.
Governor Pat Quinn
Signed the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act on Wednesday June 1, 2014 making Illinois the 16th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
Before & After
Before the Laws were passed:
Couples were moving out of Illinois and into the other 15 states that legalized same-sex marriage. Couples often would file lawsuits against the government in Illinois because they thought what Illinois was doing was unconstitutional. This leading to many unhappy citizens of Illinois.
After the Laws were passed:
On June 1, 2014, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act granted all couples the freedom to marry in Illinois. After this many clergy members throughout Illinois were available to perform marriage ceremonies either in their faith institution or a venue of the couples choice. This made many citizens very happy!