Re: I am the "Best Man"..... SO NERVOUS...
Illinois not likely to copy California in lifting gay-marriage ban
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<!--close float_l --><!-- +++++ BODY + STORY +++++ -->By Andrea Zimmermann
RRSTAR.COM
Posted May 16, 2008 @ 03:57 PM
<HR class=m5v>SPRINGFIELD —
A day after California’s top court lifted the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, Michelle Zuba-Ingram and her partner, Mary Zuba, spent this morning giving more thought to something they’ve wanted to do for years: marriage.
Zubz-Ingram said they talked about traveling to California for the ceremony. Even though such a move legally would mean nothing in Illinois, she said the act of getting married is important to them.
Although the California ruling might have given hope to thousands of gay couples and activists across the nation, the prospect of legalized same-sex marriage in Illinois is still far from reality.
“We’d be the first in line to get our marriage license,” if Illinois legalized gay marriage, Zuba-Ingram said. “It would be a dream come true.”
Because the California ruling applied to that state’s constitution and Illinois is governed by a different constitution, the decision does not have a practical application here.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said he polled colleagues about possible legislation permitting gay marriage in Illinois and support was tepid at best.
“It was clear from talking to my colleagues in the House and Senate that there was very, very little support for extending marriage rights to same-sex couples,” said Harris, the only openly gay state legislator.
Thursday’s ruling made California the second state to make same-sex marriage legal. In other states, gays are allowed to be joined by a civil union, and such an act gives them some legal rights as couples.
Civil union ceremonies in Illinois are merely symbolic. Harris said he believes there is substantial support among lawmakers to give civil unions legal weight.
Zuba-Ingram said uniting with her partner of 14 years through a civil union is not enough, but the 44-year-old also recognized the steep challenges a same-sex marriage push would face in Illinois.
“I don’t know if it will (happen) in my lifetime,” Zuba-Ingram said.
Reps. Chuck Jefferson, a Rockford Democrat, and Dave Winters, a Shirland Republican, said they believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman. Both men cited their religious beliefs as reasons why they would fight legislation to legalize gay marriage.
“When we are looking at a home base of a society of raising the next generation, the proper family unit should be a man and a woman so that children have exposure to both sexes,” said Winters, who is Methodist. “I think that it is healthiest for their mental stability for them to be productive citizens, and that’s why I wouldn’t support it.”
The Rev. Colleen McDonald of Unitarian Universalist Church in Rockford has been officiating civil union ceremonies for gay couples for almost two decades.
“When I saw it this morning, I just cried,” McDonald said. “I realize that it might not last ... it’s a move of things to come. It’s going to be slow, but it’s coming.”
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