Equality Illinois Welcomes Supreme Court Order to Hear Marriage Cases
Why should Illinois families lose rights by crossing state lines?
CHICAGO (January 16, 2015) – Equality Illinois, the state’s oldest and largest civil rights advocacy organization representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Illinoisans, today welcomed the order of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear four marriage equality cases.
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, issued the following statement:
“Friday’s order by the Supreme Court to hear four marriage equality cases is a decision whose time has come. With 70 percent of the U.S. population now able to marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia, the question of the freedom to marry is ready for a single national standard.
“Same-sex couples already enjoy the rights and recognition of marriage here in Illinois, but a national recognition of the gay and lesbian couples’ constitutional rights would set the stage for greater national understanding that we all want the same chance to live our lives and build strong families.
“It is also important to Illinoisans that the court is considering the issue in two parts, whether a state is required to issue a license to a same-sex couple, and whether a state is required to recognize a lawful marriage of a same-sex couple performed in another jurisdiction. How could it be that an Illinois family traveling no further than Michigan or Kentucky loses its rights when it crosses state lines? This must be corrected by the Supreme Court.”