For years, gay rights activists in Illinois fought for legalization of civil unions while slowly working toward a marriage bill. The marriage bill got nowhere, but civil unions were legalized in 2011, giving gay couples across Illinois the opportunity to have the same state-level rights as married couples. After passage of the civil unions bill, thousands of Illinois couples took advantage of the new law, but many said they weren’t satisfied and felt the civil union classification created a second class that wasn’t quite marriage.
For Illinois’ gay marriage proponents, it was supposed to be a historic week culminating in a collective “I do” from Springfield lawmakers.

Thousands tuned in to social media and live streams throughout the day Friday, sending tweets and other messages of hope as they waited for the Illinois House to call a vote on the legalization of gay marriage. Gay couples who had traveled to the state Capitol were invited to view the action from the speaker’s gallery. And during breaks, families paused to snap smiling pictures with sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago.

But as the hours wore on, the optimism and energy dissolved in the face of strong opposition from Catholic and conservative African-American church groups, leading Harris to rise on the floor and tearfully announce that he would not call the bill — there wasn’t enough support after all.

His speech was greeted by the angry shouts of dozens of supporters who had been waiting all day to watch the history-making event.

“It felt like someone knocked me to the floor,” said Robyne O’Mara, who has been in a same-sex relationship for the past three decades and took off work Friday to be at the Capitol. “They failed us.”

Illinois had appeared poised to become the 13th state to approve same-sex marriage. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn promised to sign the bill. Democrats held veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate. President Barack Obama called for its passage during a Thursday night fundraiser in his home city, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was a major backer as well.

As anticipation reached a frenzied level Friday, so too did Harris’ lobbying efforts. He spent hours going desk to desk surveying colleagues, occasionally stepping out of the chamber to hold meetings and huddling on the floor with House Speaker Michael Madigan and with Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, who shepherded the measure through the Senate on a 34-21 vote on Feb. 14.

In the end, however, Harris declined to point the finger at any one group of lawmakers for the failure to vote, saying individual members had to make up their own mind and that several colleagues had asked to have the summer to weigh the issue in their district, with the promise they would return in November prepared to support same-sex marriage.

“This was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Harris said of the decision to wait.

Under the bill, the definition of marriage in Illinois would have changed from an act between a man and a woman to one between two people. Civil unions could have been converted to marriages within a year of the law going on the books. The legislation would not have required religious organizations to perform a marriage of gay couples, and church officials would not have been forced to allow their facilities to be used by gay couples seeking to marry.

The legalization of same-sex marriage in Illinois would also have far broader impact on couples if the U.S. Supreme Court overrules the Defense of Marriage Act. The court is expected to rule in June. If the act is struck down, the federal government will recognize same-sex marriages, giving gay couples the full array of rights available to married heterosexual couples.

Read More