Opponents of a proposed gay marriage
bill in Illinois are set to demonstrate Saturday outside the office
of Illinois State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia.
Chapa LaVia, a Democrat, voted against
a 2010 bill legalizing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in
the state. However, supporters of marriage equality put her in the
undecided category on marriage.
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.
Demonstrators from the Illinois Family
Institute are set to protest outside Chapa LaVia's office in Aurora,
Illinois' second most populous city after Chicago.
The group staged a similar protest last
weekend against Rep. Ed Sullivan, the
second House Republican to announce support for the measure.
About 150 demonstrators gathered in front of Sullivan's district
office in Mundelein. Protesters carried signs which read “Don't
Change What God Ordained” and “Same-Sex Marriage Harms Religious
Freedom.”
A counter protest is being organized by
Illinois Unites for Marriage, the coalition of groups lobbying for
passage of the measure.
“It's absolutely critical that we
show Representative Chapa LaVia just much support there is for the
freedom to marry,” the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a coalition
member, said
in a blog post.