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LOCAL Announcement :: Gender & Sexuality

Organize for Gay Marriage--TODAY

Organizing meeting tonite for same-sex marriage licenses
Mayor Daley says he has "no problem" with gay
marraige... let's hold him to his word!

Let's follow the precedent set in California and show
Chicago and Cook county that we DEMAND full and equal
rights under the law.

Any and all interested in pushing this fight forward
should come to:

Emergency Organizing Meeting
for Gay Marraige in Chicago.
Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7PM
at Nookies Tree Restaurant, 3334 N.Halsted

For more information, contact www.cabn.org




Activists push county on gay marriage issue

February 26, 2004

BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters
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Infuriated by President Bush's "unprincipled attack against gay people and our families," activists did an about-face Wednesday -- they shifted the battleground over gay marriage to the Cook County Board.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), Chicago's first openly gay alderman, and Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, said they intend to push for a County Board vote directing Clerk David Orr to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who spearheaded a move to give benefits to same-sex partners of county employees, said he was willing to try to assemble a majority for gay marriage.

But only three of the dozen commissioners who joined Quigley to pass the measure last year said they would be on board for gay marriage. Chief among those who would not is County Board President John Stroger.

"The issuance of marriage licenses is a matter of state law, and therefore any changes to the manner in which they are issued should be addressed by the state," a Stroger spokeswoman said.

Last week, Tunney and Garcia said they had no interest in bringing a San Francisco-style protest to Cook County and issuing marriages licenses in defiance of Illinois law. They said their top priority was to pass Senate Bill 101 prohibiting statewide discrimination against gays.

But that was before Bush threw down the gauntlet by proposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"It would be civil disobedience. But the gay community has been attacked at the highest level of our government," Garcia said.

"What the president has done ... is nothing more than an unprincipled attack against gay people and our families. When you are attacked, you must respond in bold and courageous ways."

Tunney noted that the General Assembly is "more conservative" than the County Board and, therefore, the opportunity for success is greater at the local level.

Last fall, the County Board authorized Orr to start issuing certificates of domestic partnership. Only 368 certificates have been issued. But Tunney said that's because it carries no legal rights.

"People come to my office [and say], 'I've worked for the city. My partner has benefits. But the minute I retire, my partner has nothing.' We've got to . . . level the playing field. When you have lesbian and gay committed relationships and they do not have the rights for visitation, inheritance and pensions, something has got to change," Tunney said.

Last week, Mayor Daley made national headlines by declaring his support for gay marriage. The mayor has no power to issue licenses, but he said he would have "no problem" if Orr did it. The clerk responded by saying he's open to it provided a consensus can be built.

Daley's backing could be pivotal in any County Board showdown over gay marriage, provided his public support translates into political armtwisting. The mayor's brother John is chairman of the County Board's Finance Committee, and Stroger is a longtime ally of the mayor.

The only county commissioners giving an unqualified "yes" were Quigley, Joan Patricia Murphy, Roberto Maldonado and Joseph Mario Moreno.
 
 

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