Brian Brown whines over Illinois

Here's his statement on Illinois Marriage Equality

“It’s disappointing but not surprising that the House has voted to redefine marriage. The losers will be the people of Illinois who will see that redefining marriage will unleash a torrent of harassment toward those who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Once the law goes into effect in June of next year, we will see individuals, businesses and religious groups sued, fined, brought up on charges of discrimination and punished simply for holding true to the traditional view of marriage. The legislation that has been adopted contains no meaningful protections for religious liberty. We will see a torrent of actions aimed at people of faith and religious groups. All we need to do is recall the words of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Chick-fil-A’s CEO expressed his support for true marriage. Emanuel pledged that businesses like that would not be allowed to operate in Chicago.”

Get over it, there are more states turning our way.

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President Obama's Statement on Illinois passing Marriage Equality

Tonight, I applaud the men and women of the Illinois General Assembly, a body in which I was proud to serve, for voting to legalize marriage equality in my home state.

As President, I have always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally under the law. Over time, I also came to believe that same-sex couples should be able to get married like anyone else. So tonight, Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours – and for their friends and family who have long wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and equally under the law.

I also commend the members of the General Assembly for approaching this issue in a fair and open way, and for recognizing the importance of our commitment to religious freedom by engaging the religious community in this conversation. Throughout this debate, they’ve made it clear that this is about civil marriages and civil laws, and made sure that churches and other institutions of faith are still free to make their own decisions that conform to their own teachings.

As I said in my Inaugural Address last January, our journey as a nation is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. And tonight, I’m so proud that the men and women elected to serve the people of the great state of Illinois have chosen to take us one step further on that journey to perfect our union.

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Illinois House & Senate passes Marriage Equality Bill!

Illinois will have Marriage Equality!

Illinois House of Representatives just passed SB-10, which grants gay couples the freedom to marry. The vote was 61-54.

Now, it goes back to the Illinois Senate, who is all on board and prepared to act on the bill tonight. Then, the Governor will sign the bill. Yes, we are moving forward and onward!

UPDATE: Illinois Senate passes the bill, 32-21! Goes to Gov. to sign!