Almost everyone assumed that marriage equality's chance of passage in Illinois were quashed with
last night's cowardly non-vote in the House... however, there may be a
reprieve on the passage of same-sex marriage in the Land of Lincoln after all, which is going to make the homophobic loons over at NOM, IFI, and the Catholic Conference of Illinois really mad.
The Illinois Observer has reported that House Speaker Michael Madigan (D) has extended the IL SB10 deadline until August 31st, 2013, in which a special session will likely be called into order sometime this Summer.
Illinois Observer:
(Springfield, IL) – Insider: The Illinois same sex marriage bill had its deadline date for approval extended into the summer.
House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) acted quietly on Friday night before the House adjourned to extend the bill’s deadline for approval until August 31.
[...]
However, were Governor Pat Quinn to call lawmakers back to Springfield in the summer for a special session to address pension reform, which also was left without resolution, he could include Senate Bill 10 in a special session proclamation.
Nevertheless, during a summer session, House lawmakers would need to amend the bill and change the effective date from “30 days” from a gubernatorial signature to January 1 in order to avoid a 3/5th or 71 vote requirement, an insurmountable hurdle.
Amending the bill’s effective date would also require an Illinois Senate vote to concur with such a change.
The New Civil Rights Movement:
The same-sex marriage bill that was believed dead after the Illinois House decided to not bring it to a vote last night may be getting a second chance at life. Last night, the bill’s chief sponsor, Illinois state Rep. Greg Harris announced tearfully that several House lawmakers “asked for time to talk to their constituents and reach out to their minds and hearts,” before deciding how to vote. Harris promised to bring the bill back in November, drawing loud condemnation in the House chamber and throughout LGBT circles over the past day.
But news comes now that the bill’s deadline has been extended from yesterday into August, and the legislation may be brought to the House floor in a special summer session. The move would allow lawmakers enough time to “to talk to their constituents and reach out to their minds and hearts.”
Waymon Hudson at Huffington Post has an excellent take on how the LGBTQ movement went wrong and right in the debate:
It seems the long road to full equality in "The Prairie State" will continue to wind on, at least for now, as marriage equality supporters look ahead to both the veto session in the house and the current marriage lawsuit making its way through the Illinois court system brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU.
This is the what could've been had the bill passed, and hopefully we'll get the passage done this Summer or even November:
A Right Delayed, A Right Denied
The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act has far-reaching implications for Illinois' same-sex couples. Under the bill, marriage in Illinois would have changed from an act between "a man and a woman" to one "between two people." What the law means is simple: ALL couples in Illinois would have the same rights and responsibilities that come with full marriage equality. No one will have to awkwardly say that they are "civil unioned," then explain what that means to those who don't know. Couples would all just be married, gay or straight. The confusion over the "separate and unequal" status of same-sex couples, and the problems we have seen under the civil unions law, will come to an end within the state.
These civil unions could have been converted to full marriages within a year of the law going on the books, with out-of-state marriages being recognized immediately. And despite the objections and scare-tactics used by the religious based opposition, the legislation would not have required religious organizations to solemnize a marriage of gay couples, nor would church officials have been forced to allow their facilities to be used by same-sex couples seeking to marry.
The new law could have also meant a financial boon for Illinois. A recent study from The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that extending equal marriage to same-sex couples could add up to $103 million to the state economy and $8.5 million in new state and local tax revenue.
Message to the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois State Senate: get this passed and done right this time... either in the summer special session (preferably) or the November veto session!!