A group of conservative organizations
have banded together to kill an effort to legalize gay marriage in
Illinois.
A push for a vote on a marriage bill
introduced in February is expected next month during the General
Assembly's lame-duck session.
Chief sponsors of the bill last week
signaled that they have sufficient support to get the bill to
Governor Pat Quinn's desk. Quinn has said he looks forward to
signing the bill into law.
The Coalition to Protect Children and
Marriage includes a who's who of Illinois social conservative groups,
including the Eagle Forum of Illinois, Catholic Citizens of Illinois,
the Thomas More Law Center, the Illinois Family-Institute and the
Family-Pac.
“Government did not create marriage,”
David Smith, director of the Illinois Family-Institute, said
in a statement. “It merely recognizes and promotes this type
of relationship that exists and which protects the rights and serves
the best interests of children and, therefore, of society. Research
has consistently demonstrated that children fare best when raised,
whenever possible, by their biological parents. The state has a
vested interest in promoting this institution because it provides the
ideal environment in which to raise the next generation of healthy
and productive members of society.”
“Only a marriage of heterosexual
persons can produce children and secure the future of society,”
Penny Pullen, president of the Eagle Forum of Illinois, added. “The
protection of the lives and development of children must take
priority over the personal gratification of even one single adult.
The definition of natural marriage must be between one man and one
woman, unchanged by whims and claims of equality.”