Gay marriage foes are cheering the
defeat of a gay marriage bill in the Illinois House on Friday.
On the final day of the regular
session, Rep. Greg Harris, the bill's champion in the chamber,
tearfully announced that he would not call the bill for a vote. A
loud uproar was heard from the public gallery, where supporters were
seated.
Harris said that he had assurances from
colleagues that they would support the measure in the fall and
pledged to call a vote on the bill in November.
Marriage equality opponents cheered
their first win in months.
“As Christians we know that all good
things are gifts from God, and the retention of sexual complementary
in the government's definition of marriage is a very good thing,”
the Illinois Family Institute, which lobbied against passage, said in
a blog post. “The failure of this bill is a good thing for
children, for parental rights, for religious liberty, for the common
good, and for truth.”
“Despite what the bill’s supporters
claim in a dishonest attempt to stigmatize supporters of natural
marriage, the retention of sexual complementarity in the legal
definition of marriage bears no kinship to bans on interracial
marriage. Nor does it signify injustice to those who seek to marry
someone of the same sex.”
Bishop Larry Trotter, co-chairman of
the African American Clergy Coalition, said members of the Illinois
Legislative Black Caucus had shown “extreme courage in their
defense of traditional marriage in Illinois.”
“Today our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ has won!” Trotter said in a statement. “Pastor James
Meeks, Bishop Lance Davis and I are so proud of the God fearing Black
Caucus members who withstood the pressure of the LGBT forces and
allowed God's word concerning marriage to remain between one man and
one woman in Illinois.”
The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM) called the action a “great victory.”
“So much for the inevitability of gay
marriage,” said Brian Brown. “This is a huge victory at a
pivotal time, and totally undercuts the lie that somehow same-sex
marriage is inevitable.”
In recent months, supporters had
amassed an impressive string of victories as six states –
Washington, Maryland, Maine, Delaware, Rhode Island and Minnesota –
and three nations – France, Uruguay and New Zealand – legalized
marriage equality without a court order.
Meanwhile, the finger pointing in
Illinois continued as Rep. Harris laid some of the blame on
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn. Harris told the Chicago
Tribune that Quinn's public insistence that the bill had
sufficient support undercut lobbying efforts.