(Note: This letter was originally addressed to state Rep. LaShawn Ford.)
Dear Rep. Ford:
You know me because of my leadership position with the South East Oak Park Community Organization (SEOPCO). You've attended the annual Barrie Fest that SEOPCO sponsors in Barrie Park.
I am also a gay man. In April, my partner Bruce Broerman and I will celebrate 25 years of life together. I've helped raise his two kids who are now 40 and 35. They've given us four grandchildren. We are deeply involved in the civic life of Oak Park.
Marriage is first, foremost and always a civil contract. By all accounts, our relationship epitomizes all the characteristics of how marriage is defined in terms of its stabilizing influence on, and contributory benefits to our civil society. Without a universal right to enter into this contract, we are unconstitutionally denied a portion of our civil rights. In the same way that government does not require people to fall in love and get married, nor should it deny marriage to those who fall in love and do desire marriage.
Undoubtedly, you are getting pressure from those religious groups who believe homosexuality is a sin and that allowing same-sex marriage will destroy or cheapen the institution. (Please note that heterosexuals, to date, have not needed any help from us to cheapen the institution.) These groups have NO standing in this case because their own beliefs, practices and policies are unaffected by this bill. The only things opponents lose are the imposition of their particular beliefs on civil issues and their unconstitutional attempt to weaken the barrier between church and state. All of us are guaranteed not only freedom OF religion, but also freedom FROM religion. This bill honors that guarantee.
It's too late for Illinois to be a leader in marriage equality. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Iowa, Washington and the District of Columbia provided that leadership. (Nine other states have passed civil-union or domestic-partnership legislation before Illinois did.) Your only choice now is to join those who already stand on the right side of history or be remembered as one who caved in to bigotry and intolerance while ignoring the conclusions of every national poll that the majority of Americans are ready for marriage equality.
Jim Kelly
Oak Park