Illinois State Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. on
Sunday became the second Republican to endorse a gay marriage bill.
The bill, which seeks to make Illinois
the 10th state to legalize such unions, awaits a vote in
the House after passage in the Senate.
Sullivan, who previously opposed civil
unions, told the Chicago Tribune that his mother-in-law is
gay.
“The first reaction from people might
be, 'Well he might be voting for that just because of his
mother-in-law,'” Sullivan
said. “The reality is, because my mother-in-law is gay, I have
more of an understanding and familiarity with same-sex couples.”
“There is tremendous momentum leading
up to this vote. I think we're very close. There's many of my
colleagues that have talked about this, that have said it's the right
thing to do.”
“I personally believe it is in line
with what our party believes, and that's trying to treat people with
fairness,” he added.
Republican Rep. Ron Sandack also
supports the measure.
House lawmakers return to work on
Monday after a two-week break.