Dealing yet another blow to those opposed to same-sex marriage, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County Clerk David Orr have both filed opposition to a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks equal marriage in Illinois.
Orr is the target of a lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on behalf of 25 couples, but he has refused to defend the state's marriage ban, calling it unconstitutional.
Madigan has also filed in support of the lawsuit, and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez has similarly sided with the plaintiff couples.
Five county clerks in Illinois have intervened to defend the equal marriage ban. They submitted a motion to dismiss the lawsuits.
Orr and Madigan have both filed briefs in opposition to the proposed dismissal.
"We have had to deny this equal protection to thousands of committed couples in Cook County alone," said Orr, in a statement. "My office has issued 2,897 civil union licenses to same-sex couples since June 2011. I think it's fair to say these couples would prefer marriage licenses and the legal rights they afford along with the equality they represent."
Some have predicted Illinois to be the next state to win marriage equality. In addition to the lawsuit, the General Assembly is considering a bill that would legalize equal marriage. If that bill passes the House and is signed into law, the lawsuit would become moot.
But efforts to pass that bill have proven difficult in recent weeks, and LGBT groups have said they will continue to pursue the court case with full force until equal marriage becomes law.