Momentum on the push for equal marriage in Illinois has been slowed as lawmakers were out on break for two weeks, but recent national progress on the issue could strengthen efforts at home, advocates say.
Illinois lawmakers were due in Springfield April 8, where an equal marriage bill awaits a House vote.
Sponsor Greg Harris has vowed not to call for a vote on the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act until it has the votes to pass. A final vote on the measure had been expected as early as January, but LGBT leaders and sponsors have struggled to pull in the 60 votes needed to pass the measure.
LGBT leaders remained optimistic returning from break, however, after a handful of U.S. Senators, including Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, came out in support of marriage equality.
"When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others," Kirk wrote in a statement on his Website. "Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back— government has no place in the middle."
Kirk's comments came just days after Republican Sen. Rob Portman made headlines for backing equal marriage, after Portman's son came out as gay.
A majority of U.S. senators now support marriage equality, a fact that advocates expect will help with the fight in Illinois.
"Frankly, I don't think we lost momentum," said Rick Garcia, policy director for The Civil Rights Agenda, noting that a handful of senators had come around on the marriage issue.
That momentum may have carried into Illinois where two Republican reps. announced support for equal marriage.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Ed Sullivan Jr. (R-51) and Ron Sandack (R-21) are both backing the bill.
According to the Tribune, Sullivan's support was influenced by the fact that his mother-in-law is in a same-sex relationship.
The push in Illinois also comes alongside U.S. Supreme Court hearings on two equal marriage cases—one on the Defense of Marriage Act and another on California's Proposition 8, both of which ban same-sex marriage.
Despite the two-week delay in Illinois, LGBT groups have been phone banking and building support for the bill.
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said that now that lawmakers have returned for session, a vote could come up at any time.
"I feel confident that it's going to pass with strong support," Cherkasov said. "We're extremely close."
Garcia said the bill still lacked "a handful" of votes, but that movement on the marriage issue nationally could be a game-changer in Illinois.
Backing the Illinois push April 5 was also Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the NAACP national board of directors. Bond sent a letter to supporters urging the bill's passage.
"I believe that marriage strengthens families and communities. I believe that marriage provides the protection and security that every loving couples needs and deserves. I believe that marriage is a universal right, guaranteed equal protection under the law," Bond wrote.
Also voicing support for the bill recently was a group of African American faith leaders.
"Our representatives in the House will be deciding whether loving gay and lesbian couples get a marriage license down at the courthouse — not a church. While there is a diversity of theology on the boundaries of religious marriage, this is about civil marriage," said Rev. Dr. Richard Tolliver, St. Edmund's Episcopal Church, in a statement.
But the bill has also been met with strong opposition. Catholic Cardinal Francis George spoke out against same-sex marriage April 5 with a group of African American faith leaders, according to the Chicago Tribune.
LGBTs have also pushed back against anti-gay rhetoric. Responding to recent anti-gay remarks by Wheaton Rep. Jeanne Ives, a group of residents published an ad in Mysuburbanlife.com, thanking Ives "for her candor."
Ives previously stated that gays were "disordered" and were trying to "weasel their way into acceptability" on Catholic Conference Radio Hour.
The ad in response disparages those remarks.
"Gay men and women obey the same laws and pay the same taxes as straight Americans," the ad stated. "There is nothing 'weasely' about marriage equality—gay men and women are openly and honestly seeking the equal protection of law guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution."
Advocates declined to give a timeline for a when a vote was expected.
