President Barack Obama on Wednesday
reiterated his support for a gay marriage bill stalled in the
Illinois House.
“Here in Illinois, we've got a vote
on same-sex marriage that's going to be coming up in the state
Legislature,” Obama told donors at a fundraiser. “And I just
want to say for the record it's something that I deeply support. I
wrestled with this for a long time and I am absolutely convinced it
is the right thing to do. And we have to make sure that wherever we
go, we are reminding people that the essence of America is that
everybody is treated equally under the law without exception.”
Obama made his remarks at an event held
at the home of Bettylu and Paul Saltzman to raise money for the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), according
to BuzzFeed.
Lawmakers have 2 days left in the
regular legislative session to debate the bill. The Senate approved
the measure on Valentine's Day.
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality
Illinois, praised the president's remarks, saying they “should
resonate powerfully with his former colleagues in the Illinois
General Assembly.”