Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who co-stars on
ABC's Modern Family, will join Illinois Lt. Governor Sheila
Simon in Chicago on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers to legalize gay
marriage.
Illinois lawmakers, who legalized civil
unions for gay couples 2 years ago, are expected to take up the issue
when they reconvene for a lame-duck session in January.
“It is our responsibility to ensure
that everyone is treated equally under the law, and right now we have
a group of citizens that we are treating as second-class,” said
Simon in a statement. “Bringing marriage equality to Illinois is
the right thing to do, and I appreciate the hard work by Rep. Greg
Harris, Sen. Heather Steans and three-time Emmy nominee Jesse Tyler
Ferguson to bring much-deserved attention to this issue.”
Ferguson and his lawyer fiance, Justin
Mikita, in September launched the non-profit Tie
The Knot, which sells limited edition bow ties with profits
benefiting organizations seeking to expand marriage rights for gay
couples. Simon, Ferguson and Mikita on Wednesday will visit The Tie
Bar in Naperville to unveil a limited-edition Signature Black Wedding
bow tie. On Thursday, they will join other gay marriage advocates in
Springfield for a Bow Tie Lobby Day.
“Justin and I are thrilled to be
participating in Springfield's Bow Tie Lobby Day,” Ferguson
said. “Drawing attention to the importance of marriage
equality at this level is exactly why we developed Tie The Knot. We
are also excited to see how the citizens and legislators of Illinois
do with their bow tying skills.”
(Related: Obama
calls on Illinois lawmakers to approve gay marriage.)