Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said
Wednesday that he will lobby on behalf of a gay marriage bill, the
Chicago
Tribune reported.
“I'll push for it because it is
consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that
I think it is right as a city, as a state and as a country,”
Emanuel said.
The bill, which would make Illinois the
eighth state to legalize gay marriage, was introduced last week by
openly gay Representatives Greg Harris, Deb Mell and Kelly Cassidy.
(Related: Illinois
Gov. Pat Quinn retreating on gay marriage support?)
Emanuel last year supported passage of
a civil unions bill and officiated
over the civil union of a staffer on the law's first day.
The 52-year-old Emanuel is also an
inaugural member of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, a group of
more than 80 U.S. Mayors who have pledged to support marriage
equality.
“If you have two loving adults, that
should actually be held up as a positive, whether it's male or
female, but in this case female-female, male-male,” Emanuel added.
“I think that's proper, and we shouldn't as a state discriminate.”