Republicans in Illinois are keeping
quiet on a proposal to legalize gay marriage in the state.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times'
Rich Miller, the GOP wants the legislation approved as soon as
possible.
“The reason so many Republicans would
like to see the bill passed is because they know that with the huge,
new Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers, that it's
eventually going to pass anyway,” Miller
wrote on Sunday.
“They want to get this issue out of
the way and behind them as soon as possible. The issue is trending
hard against the GOP's historical opposition, and they want the thing
off the table before it starts to hurt them.”
Miller points to Republican Chairman
Pat Brady's support to the bill, saying that Brady “undoubtedly
wouldn't have gone so public with his support if party leaders were
not encouraging him behind the scenes.”
(Related: Illinois
GOP Chair Pat Brady rejects calls to resign over gay marriage
support.)
Miller does not believe that
Republicans are prepared to promote the bill, only that they would
like to see the issue settled so that they could move on to other
issues, such as repealing a 2011 income tax hike.