US: Pressure mounts on Illinois House to vote on equal marriage bill before end of session
Equal marriage advocates in the US state of Illinois are pushing for the House to vote on equal marriage, before this session, on Friday.
Representative Greg Harris, the equal marriage bill’s sponsor, had said he would call the bill for a vote before the end of session, which is on Friday.
He also maintained that when he did call the bill for a vote, “it will pass”, but he wanted to ensure it had enough votes to do so. Having already signalled that this may be the case, pressure is mounting on Harris to call the bill.
Jim Bennett, the Midwest regional director for Lambda Legal, spoke at a press conference on Thursday, outside the House.
“A vote has been promised and it is time to deliver on that promise,” he said. “When you look at all the politics and all the things that have happened, when it comes down to it, it is about thousands of Illinois families and their lives.”
On Thursday 14 February, the Illinois Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, voted 34-21 to approve the measure. Prior to the Senate vote, Governor Pat Quinn had already indicated that he would sign the bill into law.
On 11 May, he said: “It’s time to vote… Illinois passing marriage equality into law, I think, sends a great signal to the people of our state and the people of America. So it’s important to Illinois [that] the House of Representatives get going.”
Some speculated that the bill could come up next, as the House debated on another bill.
More to follow.
