Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

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

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Anti-gay adoption bill defeated in committee, 7 to 6
News update posted April 13, 2011
by Yasmin Nair, Windy City Times
2011-04-20

This article shared 8774 times since Wed Apr 20, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


In a narrow victory for gay rights activists, SB 1123—which would have effectively allowed religious child welfare and adoption agencies to bar adoptions and foster care by gay parents—was just struck down.

The vote was seven to six. Yes votes: Christine Radogno ( R-41 ) , Dale A. Righter ( R-55 ) , Matt Murphy ( R-27 ) , David S. Luechtefeld ( R-58 ) , Bill Brady ( R-44 ) , Antonio Muñoz ( D-1 ) .

No votes: Don Harmon ( D-39 ) , Ira L. Silverstein ( D-8 ) , M. Maggie Crotty ( D-19 ) , Jeffrey M. Schoenberg ( D-9 ) , Kimberly A. Lightford ( D-4 ) , John J. Cullerton ( D-6 ) , Donne E. Trotter ( D-17 ) .

As per procedure, one opponent and one proponent was allowed to testify. Mary Dixon of the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) spoke against the bill and Robert Gilligan of the Illinois Catholic Conference spoke in favor. The ACLU, The Civil Rights Agenda ( TCRA ) , Equality Illinois ( EI ) , Protestants for the Common Good, the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois were among those monitoring the situation as opponents, as was the activist Rick Garcia.

Speaking to Windy City Times immediately after the vote, Ed Yohnka, communications director of ACLU said, "This means that the senate executive committee has rejected an effort to write discrimination into the law. On the back of the historic civil-unions law, that really would have been a tragedy. The hard work that folks did in the last 48 hours in terms of really spreading the word about this and making the damage that this would has really paid off. I think people were well-educated in terms of what this would mean."

Antonio Muñoz was the only Democrat who voted for the bill, and Rick Garcia offered Windy City Times a behind-the-scenes look at how that came to be, saying that, "Senaor Muñoz only voted yes because [ as he indicated ] that yesterday when he had talked to Senator Koehler, he was "unaware" of the great opposition to this bill. And he said, 'Because I gave you my word, I will vote yes, but I don't think that, if it gets out of committee, I don't think I can vote on the floor for it.' Here again, this is very interesting because what that was about is that we were down here and we were visible and we did a really excellent job in articulating that this is not acceptable." Garcia was among those who were initially nervous about the bill going to the floor for a vote: "I thought for sure there was better than even chance that he bill would get out of committee."

Garcia also spoke about the role of the Catholic Conference's stand on the matter, saying that, at one point, " [ They were ] asked by one of the dissenters, what would happen to the children in the charity's care if this bill does not pass. And the spokesman suggested that the Catholic charities would have to get out of the child welfare business. I think that's a bluff … other dioceses have threatened it. But fine. Let them get out of the child welfare business, if they're basing everything on anti-gay messages, let them get out. Some people have said we have to stop antagonizing faith-based organizations and to that I say a resounding, 'Bullshit.' Because if we weren't here antagonizing the Catholic Conference … we would have lost."

Garcia praised Mary Dixon who, he said, did an excellent job in giving the testimony for the opponent: "She outlined exactly what the problems were, and explained that this was not just unpopular but bad for the children, and about codifying discrimination into he law."

Anthony Martinez of TCRA, talking to Windy City Times, expanded on the Catholic Conference's arguments, and said that they "spoke about why they opposed the bill, which goes back to their covenant of marriage and not placing children in homes without parents that are married." Like Garcia, he was pleasantly surprised that the bill was held in committee, adding that, "This is such an amazing victory and shows what an organized community can achieve in a short amount of time."

Bernard Cherkasov of EI spoke with Windy City Times about the significance of the vote and what lies ahead: "If this amendment had become law, tens of thousands of children across the state of Illinois who are in a welfare or adoption process right now would have been denied their best interests because agencies would have been allowed to reject otherwise perfectly qualified couples only because they were same sex couples in a civil unions relationship."

Cherkasov added that "We have to continue educating our lawmakers on just how serious these issues are. It is clear that they may not have understood clearly some of the key issues around the bill in adoption and foster care especially when it comes to prospective LGBT parents. We have to continue having that conversation with them; there are no permanent enemies in the political world, no door is ever closed and no conversation is ever finished. So we just have to go back to our supporters and those who didn't support us this time and continue educating them." He also pointed out that the bill's defeat would not have been possible if "thousands" of people had not called in immediately after hearing the news to express their opposition to their state senators.


This article shared 8774 times since Wed Apr 20, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

WORLD Marriage in Greece, UK politics, cruise death, HRC grants 2024-02-02
- The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a recent meeting that it is "strongly opposed" to the Greek government's promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption, Balkan Insight reported. The conservative New ...


Gay News

Israeli court rules that same-sex couples can adopt children 2023-12-29
- In a decision hailed as groundbreaking, Israel's High Court unanimously ruled on Dec. 28 that same-sex couples may adopt children under the terms of a 1981 adoption law, The Times of Israel reported. Employing a different ...


Gay News

Law will reduce barriers to gender-neutral multiple-occupancy restrooms in businesses, universities, building 2023-08-12
--From a press release - CHICAGO — Advocates celebrated Governor JB Pritzker's signing of House Bill 1286, legislation that will reduce barriers for businesses serving their communities and customers by allowing for the adoption of ...


Gay News

Illinois House passes legislation allowing gender-neutral multiple-occupancy restrooms 2023-03-24
--From a press release - CHICAGO — Advocates celebrated passage by the Illinois House of legislation that will reduce barriers for businesses serving their communities and customers by allowing for the adoption of gender-neutral multiple-occupancy ...


Gay News

Slovenia legalizes marriage equality, adoption 2022-10-05
- Slovenia has become the first Eastern European country to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption. The historic moment has come about after a six-to-three Constitutional Court decision in July said that same-sex marriage and adoption are constitutional ...


Gay News

WORLD Slovenia marriage item, Antigua and Barbuda, Berlin mosque 2022-07-10
- In Slovenia, the Constitutional Court legalized same-sex marriage and adoptions after finding a law under which only heterosexual partners can marry and same-sex couples cannot adopt children to be in contravention of the constitutional ban on ...


Gay News

Michigan settlement lets faith-based agencies reject same-sex adoptions 2022-01-26
- Faith-based adoption agencies that contract with Michigan can refuse to place children with same-sex couples under a proposed settlement filed in federal court, a HuffPost item noted. The development happened months after the U.S. Supreme Court ...


Gay News

WORLD Adoption ban, trans soldier, Belgium killing, archbishop 2021-03-14
- Same-sex couples will be barred from adopting children in Poland even as single parents, under a new law announced by a nationalist ruling party that has made anti-gay policies a major part of its governing platform, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Virginia items, Marriott CEO, Black LGBTQ+ icons, trans kids' book 2021-02-21
- Virginia lawmakers are about to roll back a state law that allows faith-based adoption and foster-care agencies to refuse service to LGBTQ families, VirginiaMercury.com reported. The legislation has spurred heated ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Adoption-agency case, Chick-fil-A, LGBTQ candidates, Cher 2020-08-24
- The U.S. Supreme Court set Wed., Nov. 4, as the date when it will hear oral arguments on whether a taxpayer-funded, religious-affiliated adoption agency can lawfully reject same-sex couples—a case that could have significant impact on ...


Gay News

Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois recognized by HRC Foundation for LGBTQ-inclusion 2020-05-28
- Oakbrook Terrace, IL — Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS), the second largest community-based provider of child welfare services in Illinois, including foster care and adoption, proudly announced ...


Gay News

WORLD China couple, Finland adoption, Pride masks, Morocco influencer 2020-04-29
- A Chinese lesbian couple's landmark court battle over the custody of their two children has stirred debate over LGBT rights and put a spotlight on the absence of a same-sex marriage law, Reuters reported. Shanghai resident ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2020 JUDICIAL (FLEMING VAC.) Trowbridge on race, lessons, LGBT judges 2020-02-24
- Brad Trowbridge has been an attorney for 20 years specializing in a wide swath of family law issues including, but not limited to, LGBT family matters, adoption and divorce at his Chicago-based law firm. Trowbridge is ...


Gay News

Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee signs anti-gay adoption bill 2020-01-25
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a controversial bill that would let adoption agencies deny service to same-sex couples, among others, based on religious stances. The law takes effect immediately. Several ...


Gay News

International Human Rights Day legislation would make U.S. LGBTI protections leader 2019-12-10
- Washington (December 10, 2019) — Today, as the United Nations commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.