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.”