Illinois House Adjourns Without Gay Marriage Vote

Religion Today | Updated: Jun 04, 2013

Illinois House Adjourns Without Gay Marriage Vote

The Illinois House of Representatives adjourned for the session on Friday without voting on gay marriage, an acknowledgement that it lacked the votes to pass in what was a defeat for gay marriage groups after a string of victories, Baptist Press reports. Six states legalized gay marriage in the last seven months, including three in May alone. It was thought Illinois might join that list and become the 13th state to redefine marriage, but the bill never made it to a floor vote. It had passed the Senate, 34-21, in February, and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn had pledged to sign it, but despite Democrats having a super-majority in the House, the bill lacked the necessary support. "This was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," House sponsor Greg Harris said after pulling the bill. Several House members had asked him to hold off on bringing the bill to the floor so they could spend the summer talking to constituents, he said; the bill could be considered again in November. The Illinois Family Institute, which worked to defeat the bill, said in a blog post that "in a liberal state like Illinois, this is a truly remarkable victory. ... The failure of this bill is a good thing for children, for parental rights, for religious liberty, for the common good and for truth."



Illinois House Adjourns Without Gay Marriage Vote