THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The 16 plaintiffs in the Lambda Legal lawsuit are described in the Complaint[1] (Complaint) as same-sex couples who have been in loving, committed relationships ranging from 6 to 48 years, who wish to marry in Illinois. They argue that civil unions mark same-sex couples as different and unworthy of fair and equal treatment, and invite discrimination. In essence, the Complaint alleges that Illinois' ban on same-sex marriage marks same-sex couples as legal inferiors.

According to the Complaint, during May 2012, all 16 couples went to the office of the Cook County Clerk to request an application for a marriage license in order to marry each other in the state of Illinois. They were prepared to tender the application fee, and satisfied the legal requirements for marriage, aside from the salient fact that they are same-sex couples. Each couple was denied an application, with responses from employees of the Cook County Clerk ranging from "according to statute, marriage is between one man and one woman," to "we can't give a marriage license to a same-sex couple." When Mercedes Santos and Theresa Volpe, a lesbian couple, requested an application, a Cook County Clerk employee turned to a co-worker and asked whether a same-sex couple in a civil union could get "an upgrade" to a marriage. The employee denied the couple's request.

The County Clerk's office denied the applications for marriage licenses based on the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Marriage Act), which authorizes marriages "between a man and a woman," and expressly prohibits marriages "between 2 individuals of the same-sex." The Marriage Act further states that marriages of same-sex couples are "contrary to the public policy of this State."

The District of Columbia, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont have legalized gay marriage, either through legislation or court action. The Illinois lawsuits are reminiscent of the Proposition 8 (Prop 8) legal battle in California, which began in 2008 after California's high court held that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The Prop 8 battle is ongoing: After Prop 8 was passed as a ballot measure, thus overturning the court's ruling and again banning gay marriage, the case went to the federal court sitting in California. Both the federal district court sitting in southern California and the Ninth Circuit overturned Prop 8, with the Ninth Circuit couching its decision in the fact that California gave a right to same-sex couples, and then took it away. The court did not rule on the constitutionality of banning marriage between same-sex couples, and instead expected the parties to appeal to the United States Supreme Court to decide that issue.

President Obama recently entered the heated debate by endorsing same-sex marriage. Prior to his recent announcement, President Obama instructed the U.S. Department of Justice to stop defending lawsuits against the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a "Letter from the Attorney General to Congress on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act" stating the same. Specifically, Attorney General Holder wrote that he and President Obama concluded that "as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law, [the definition of marriage in] DOMA is unconstitutional." Same-sex marriage rights are long overdue in Illinois.

Affinity will always work towards advancing equal rights for LGBT communities. In light of Affinity's support of this lawsuit and marriage equality, however, we would be remiss if we did not highlight the fact that Black queer and transgender individuals and families face issues that will not be resolved by solely achieving marriage equality.

According to a recent report issued by the Center for American Progress, "Jumping Beyond the Broom: Why Black Gay and Transgender Americans Need More Than Marriage Equality," "families headed by black same-sex couples are more likely to raise their children in poverty, black lesbians are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, and black gay and transgender youth are more likely to end up homeless and living on the streets" than their White LGBTQ and straight/non-trans Black counterparts. Furthermore, that the Illinois legislature just last week slashed the HIV prevention and programs budget by 42% ($3.3 million) shows that issues disproportionately affecting the Black LGBTQ community are not a priority, and that we are in fact losing ground on some fronts.

With these issues in mind, Affinity urges lawmakers and LGBTQ rights advocates to take care not to prioritize marriage equality as the single "gay issue," while simultaneously allowing other issues impacting our communities to go unaddressed, or worse. This prioritization pushes individuals such as Black gay and transgender people to the margins, leaving our needs to fall through the cracks, unnoticed and unaddressed. While the fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples is an important one, we must ensure that the same level of effort that is devoted to marriage equality is devoted to other pressing issues facing queer and transgender people of color, especially the more marginalized among us.

[1] The ACLU complaint was not available as of the date of this statement.

Affinity is a social justice organization that works with and on behalf of Black LGBTQ communities, queer youth, and allies to identify emergent needs, create safe spaces, develop leaders, and bridge communities through collective analysis and action for social justice, freedom, and human rights. Individuals are brought onto the board twice a year, in the spring and fall. For information about board recruitment and programs, visit the website at www.affinity95.org .