Marriage Equality Closer to Law in Illinois

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/6880/marriage_equality_closer_to_law_in_illinois/

February 27, 2013 12:35pm
Post by PETER MONTGOMERY

A marriage equality bill moved toward a vote in the Illinois House on Tuesday night on a 6-5 vote in the House Executive Committee. One committee member, Rep. Luis Arroyo, announced that he was voting to allow the bill a floor vote even though he said he expected to vote against the bill on the floor based on his religious beliefs.

Religious figures testified both for and against the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act, which sponsor Rep. Greg Harris noted exempts ministers from having to solemnize marriages and includes exemptions for parish halls and fellowship halls.

Testifying for the bill were two African American pastors, Rev. B Herbert Martin and Rev. Otis Moss III. Martin said that he had lived through a time when the laws embraced the “separate but equal” philosophy and said, “We are better than that.” Moss spoke on behalf of church-state separation, saying, “we live our faith, we do not legislate our faith.” He drew a distinction between the responsibility of churches to preach the love of God and the responsibility of civil authorities to protect civil rights. Moss ended with a flourish, referring to the “Cathedral of Democracy” and urging legislators to draw from the “shared sacred text” of the Constitution and act to ensure that all citizens are treated equally.

Also testifying on behalf of the bill were a same-sex couple raising children, a child development expert, and a representative of the Illinois Bar Association. In a discussion of research on parenting and child development, Dr. Laura Berk of Illinois State University characterized the notorious Regnerus study as methodologically flawed and arriving at invalid conclusions.

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