The organization Affinity Community Services recently released a statement regarding local developments regarding same-sex marriage.
The release refers to Lambda Legal's and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)'s separate lawsuits that represent 25 same-sex couples from across the state of Illinois who want to marry. (Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the organizations.)
"The District of Columbia, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont have legalized gay marriage, either through legislation or court action," the release states. "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 statement also cites President Obama's and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent endorsements of marriage equality, before adding, "Same-sex marriage rights are long overdue in Illinois."
However, Affinity added that even if marriage equality is achieved, there will still be problems: "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."