[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/bill-clinton-urging-illinois-lawmakers-to-vote-for-gay-marriage\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/bill-clinton-urging-illinois-lawmakers-to-vote-for-gay-marriage\/","headline":"Bill Clinton Urging Illinois Lawmakers to Vote for Gay Marriage","name":"Bill Clinton Urging Illinois Lawmakers to Vote for Gay Marriage","description":"With less than two weeks to go before their finishing up springtime legislation, Illinois lawmakers are being pressured to make their state the 13th to...","datePublished":"2013-05-23","dateModified":"2021-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bill-clinton.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/bill-clinton.jpg","height":604,"width":546},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/bill-clinton-urging-illinois-lawmakers-to-vote-for-gay-marriage\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":331,"articleBody":"With less than two weeks to go before their finishing up springtime legislation, Illinois lawmakers are being pressured to make their state the 13th to approve gay marriage, according the The Washington Post:On Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton urged members of the Illinois House to vote for gay marriage as a way to strengthen the nation. \u201cOur nation\u2019s permanent mission is to form a \u2018more perfect union,\u2019\u201d Mr. Clinton said in a statement released by Equality Illinois and numerous other gay-rights web sites. Extending rights to people who have been denied them strengthens the nation, Mr. Clinton said. \u201cNow we should do it again, in Illinois, with marriage equality.\u201dThe vote on gay marriage in the Illinois House has been held up all spring after black pastors around the state and especially in Chicago said they would not accept a \u201cyes\u201d vote by their lawmakers. Their resistance, combined with that of conservative groups and their allies around the state has kept the Democrat-led chamber from bringing up the vote.The state Senate passed the bill easily on Valentine\u2019s Day. Illinois state leaders, including Gov. Pat Quinn, have urged passage of the bill.Illinois Unites for Marriage, a coalition led by Lambda Legal, American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Illinois, are rallying support for gay marriage.Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive of Equality Illinois, recently told a church event that enacting gay marriage in Illinois \u201cis only a matter of when and not if.\u201dSupporters of traditional marriage, however, say that the gay lobby\u2019s \u201cblitzkrieg\u201d \u2014 referring to recent gay marriage victories in Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota \u2014 will probably be stopped by a \u201cpro-family army\u201d in Illinois. The Illinois Family Institute, Illinois Catholic Conference, African American Pastors Coalition, plus numerous evangelical, Hispanic, Korean and Chinese churches, are keeping pressure on lawmakers to vote no on the bill, SB 10, according to MassResistance, a traditional-values ally in Massachusetts. Photo: Justin Sullivan for The Clinton Foundation "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Bill Clinton Urging Illinois Lawmakers to Vote for Gay Marriage","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/bill-clinton-urging-illinois-lawmakers-to-vote-for-gay-marriage\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]