Fifteen

November 5, 2013 2:06 PM

With the bill approved by the Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois will become the 15th marriage equality state.

The Illinois Senate passed the bill last February.

posted by roomthreeseventeen (97 comments total)

*throws confetti*
posted by orangutan at 2:12 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Senate must approve the measure tonight, actually. They are expected to do so.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:14 PM on November 5, 2013

Yes, sorry, the Senate will re-approve this with the new amendment. They passed a previous version in February.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:15 PM on November 5, 2013

Relevant autocorrect from here on the ground:

Happy Gary marriage day

Oops, I meant gay

Please don't marry Gary

(I don't know that we actually know any Garys.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:15 PM on November 5, 2013 [18 favorites]

*quickly sweeps up confetti, places it into bin to be thrown again later tonight*
posted by Aizkolari at 2:15 PM on November 5, 2013 [7 favorites]

It's going to be interesting when/if the momentum for state-level marriage equality support reaches a plateau. When the line gets drawn between "these states will easily recognize marriage equality" and "these states will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century."
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2013 [9 favorites]

Congratulations Illinois!
posted by Annika Cicada at 2:16 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Italian beefs and Old Style for everybody!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:17 PM on November 5, 2013 [17 favorites]

"We don't want nobody that nobody sent"
(Except you two. You look fabulous together!)
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 2:18 PM on November 5, 2013 [3 favorites]

WOOOOOOOOOOO (assuming the Senate doesn't fuck this up for some stupid reason).
posted by sparkletone at 2:18 PM on November 5, 2013

Old Style? pfft... 312 or Goose Island
posted by sbutler at 2:19 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Italian beefs and Old Style for everybody!

Somebody's been looking at my wedding planning Pintrest.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:19 PM on November 5, 2013 [22 favorites]

When the bill is signed by the governor 114 million Americans will live in marriage equality states. We have a LONG way to go, but that's a lot of awesome families.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:19 PM on November 5, 2013 [3 favorites]

It seems like Hawaii could also happen this week or next.
posted by Area Man at 2:21 PM on November 5, 2013

When the line gets drawn between "these states will easily recognize marriage equality" and "these states will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

I just told my husband that I expect our state (Indiana) to be the dead last to legalize marriage equality, and I would bet money that it will take a lawsuit to do it.

Our state reps did, after all, just spend three years coming up with more and more arcane reasons to take away a specialty license plate from a LGBTQ non-profit youth group.
posted by headspace at 2:21 PM on November 5, 2013 [4 favorites]

I cried much more quietly at my desk than when Minnesota passed.

When MN passed I scared my mom I was crying so had when I called her. Whoops. (I texted her this time).
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:21 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

As always when another political state declares gay marriage legal, I've got Lily Allen's perfect little gay rights anthem cranked.
posted by orange swan at 2:22 PM on November 5, 2013 [4 favorites]

114,000,000 people living in equality states: approx 36% of the American population!
posted by troika at 2:22 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Hawaii should have been this week, too, but naturally the usual fuckwits have made the special session into a parade of assholery wih a "citizen's filibuster." It doesn't really matter, it passed the House already and they have the votes in the Senate, but the homophobes and their enablers can still gum up the works.
posted by zombieflanders at 2:24 PM on November 5, 2013

What's after Hawaii? Oregon? Pennsylvania looks pretty out of place in the north east.
posted by borkencode at 2:26 PM on November 5, 2013

Here is a list of the states that currently are processing marriage equality lawsuits. Obviously, some states, like Illinois, are won in the legislature, though.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:27 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

What's amazing is that this actually feels ho-hum.

And I fully realize that it is anything BUT ho-hum for people living in Illinois who can now get married - congratulations to all of you! But marriage equality has moved with astonishing speed from radical wild-eyed out-there notion to ... perfectly normal. How wonderful.

Now, about the remaining 35 states...
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:29 PM on November 5, 2013 [4 favorites]

Dang, first the Bears beat the Packers last night, now Illinois beats us to marriage equality... c'mon Wisconsin, let's get with it!
posted by desjardins at 2:31 PM on November 5, 2013 [6 favorites]

"Please don't marry Gary"

I disapprove of interstate marriages.
posted by klangklangston at 2:34 PM on November 5, 2013 [13 favorites]

Another weight to move the scales and redress the balance. Sanity is winning.

*happy dance*
posted by arcticseal at 2:35 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

I was perusing Volokh earlier and ran across this post, about a group of religious-liberty scholars who were urging the legislators to "include what they call a “marriage conscience protection” that would significantly expand the scope of religious exemptions already provided in the bill, and would insert additional substantive exemptions that would broadly expose married same-sex couples to discrimination in both the public and private spheres. The letter objecting to the Illinois marriage bill follows very similar warnings about religious liberty that these same scholars have sent to many other states considering same-sex marriage legislation. (See, for example, a link to some of their letters here.)"

I can't figure out if that proposed language actually got included. I can't even find the language of the bill, because I guess my google-fu is on vacation like I am right now. Anybody know?
posted by rtha at 2:36 PM on November 5, 2013

Now, about the remaining 35 states...

Who's going to be 50th?
posted by fairmettle at 2:37 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Texas, of course. Now please, can we get back to celebrating? I'm trying not to remember that I moved from Washington back to my stupid home state.
posted by Annika Cicada at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Assuming passage in Hawaii and Illinois, I believe that leaves four states where same-sex marriage is banned only by statute (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, and Wyoming), and one where it is de facto legal at the county level (New Mexico). If I'm correct in that, then in the remaining thirty states, it is banned by the state constitution (although Oregon, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Colorado all have civil union or domestic partnership laws.)

My guess would be that Pennsylvania would be the easiest to flip next, and New Mexico would be the next easiest since it only needs to be made "official". Bear in mind that just adding those two states will take the population living in states where same-sex marriage is legal to around 130,000,000. After that it gets tricky for a while, although there could be surprises (remember Iowa?) It's possible that the "civil union plus constitutional ban" states will flip sooner than expected.

And, of course, a single Supreme Court decision on Full Faith and Credit could run the table and make it de facto legal everywhere ...
posted by kyrademon at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Man, I leave this state alone for one hour - ONE HOUR! - to get a massage, and I come out and they've gone and made the world more just when I wasn't paying attention.

Equality five!

I <3 Illinois
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:43 PM on November 5, 2013 [5 favorites]

I can't figure out if that proposed language actually got included. I can't even find the language of the bill, because I guess my google-fu is on vacation like I am right now. Anybody know?

I'm a bad Illinois political gay and don't know for certain, but I don't think so. And based on what opponents on the floor were saying, it was not. Of course, they were also saying that passage would lead to increased polyamory while also quoting from 'gays against marriage' blogs that were worried about the loss of sexual freedoms if gay marriage passed (as if to say "look, some gays don't even want to get married") -- so I'm not sure the source should be trusted.

(Side note: "polyamory" is not recognized by my dictionary but "polyandry" is -- weird.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:48 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

(I dream of the MetaTalk post, when all 50 states have done their duty, which presents a list of every relevant MetaFilter thread, state-by-state; and then we can look back with joy to see how this particular human right spread across America)
posted by the quidnunc kid at 2:48 PM on November 5, 2013 [52 favorites]

Sticherbeast: "It's going to be interesting when/if the momentum for state-level marriage equality support reaches a plateau. When the line gets drawn between "these states will easily recognize marriage equality" and "these states will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.""

This reminded me of something I read today:

There’s a fascinating new poll number out of South Carolina that tells you everything you need to know about where the politics of same-sex marriage in the country are headed and why Republicans need to be very careful with how they handle the issue in the coming years. The number is 52 percent — as in the percentage of South Carolinians who believe that marriages between same-sex couples should not be recognized under law, according to a new Winthrop University poll conducted for The State newspaper. But, consider this: In 2006, the Palmetto State passed a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage with 78 percent of the vote.
-from washingtonpost.com

Definitely more than possible that certain states will hold out til the very very end, but maybe there's hope. (Of course, they do press that "a single poll is just that")
posted by coupdefoudre at 2:52 PM on November 5, 2013

I was perusing Volokh earlier and ran across this post, about a group of religious-liberty scholars who were urging the legislators to "include what they call a “marriage conscience protection” that would significantly expand the scope of religious exemptions already provided in the bill, and would insert additional substantive exemptions that would broadly expose married same-sex couples to discrimination in both the public and private spheres. The letter objecting to the Illinois marriage bill follows very similar warnings about religious liberty that these same scholars have sent to many other states considering same-sex marriage legislation. (See, for example, a link to some of their letters here.)

I thought it was interesting and quite telling that the "marriage conscience protection" languaged proposed by the anti-equality scholars goes so far that it would allow private businesses to refuse to serve interracial couples.
posted by Area Man at 2:56 PM on November 5, 2013

Old Style? pfft... 312 or Goose Island

Why? Didn't New Jersey already pass marriage equality?

Half Acre or Revolution, please.
posted by hwyengr at 3:02 PM on November 5, 2013 [5 favorites]

Italian beefs and Old Style for everybody!

Something something Italian beef/sausage combo.
posted by kmz at 3:06 PM on November 5, 2013 [5 favorites]

Who's going to be 50th?

My bet is on the state immediately to the east of Illinois.

Hell, our legislature is expected to try for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the next session. They're getting a huge amount of pushback from business leaders, including the Chamber of Commerce, but the Indiana statehouse has shown itself hellbent to become the reddest of the red with each successive session.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:06 PM on November 5, 2013

The head of the Hawaii Police Union turns out to be a real gem. Is been harrowing out here listening to days and days of bussed in testimony from New Hope Chapel and the Hawaii Christian Coalition (among other groups) who've hijacked the discussion. Polls suggest the majority of Hawaii's people support Marriage Equality and that this is going to pass, but the hundreds and hundreds of Christians who testified publicly against it (for every reason from "people won't know what bathroom to use" to "STDs will spread across the islands") are going to be so ashamed when they realize they were on the wrong side of history.

Congratulations, Illinois. I hope we're right behind you.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:10 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

It just repassed the Senate as well 32-21.
posted by sparkletone at 3:13 PM on November 5, 2013

It just passed the Senate 32-29.
posted by zombieflanders at 3:13 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

You can't both be right!

(Except that you can because 32 votes were needed and the last 8 nays must have followed that point.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Official state record shows 32-21.
posted by sparkletone at 3:16 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Weird. Twitter why do you lie to me.

("Mike, why do you trust us?" is under 140 characters.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, well, I was following it on Twitter. So there.
posted by zombieflanders at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2013

What's after Hawaii? Oregon? Pennsylvania looks pretty out of place in the north east

Colorado's probably not too far off. PA is famously socially conservative but a majority of Pennsylvanians actually now support marriage equality. That's not reflected in the state legislature due to a really extreme rural-urban split that, even before gerrymandering took hold, has generally given the Commonwealth a more conservative representation than its citizens' views would imply. It'll take a while, but PA is a lot closer to justice than most of the other holdout states.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:18 PM on November 5, 2013

I doubt it will come down to a "one last state" scenario. My prediction:

At some point, there's going to be a tipping point where the Supreme Court grants Full Faith and Credit to same-sex marriages performed in other states. At that point, states banning same sex marriage can be a hindrance, an annoyance, and an obstacle for the poor, but anyone who can afford a road trip to an appropriate state will be able to get married and have it count by law back home.

At some point after that, another Supreme Court decision will just outright make legal same-sex marriage the law of the land.

BUT. Even if that's true, these state-by-state victories are hugely important and necessary. First, they are the law of the land *now*, not at some unknown point in the future. Second, this is how we get to that tipping point in the first place. With each victory, the division starts to look more and more absurd. "Just Massachusetts" is easier to dismiss than "just New England" which is easier to dismiss than "just the Northeast and a few other states" ... and now it's rapidly going from a third of the U.S. to two-fifths of the U.S. ... and within a few years, it could very well be half the U.S. ...

Honestly, I personally think the tipping point will happen sooner rather than later. You can already get a same-sex marriage that is recognized everywhere under Federal law, and that's the beginning of the endgame. How long are people going to put up with the ridiculous situation of "welll, you're married for this purpose and on this tax return but not for this purpose or on that tax return ..."

Everyone can see that's just stupid. And while "this is just stupid" may not be the final nail in the coffin, enough people saying it may very well signal the great sea change we all know is coming.
posted by kyrademon at 3:19 PM on November 5, 2013 [7 favorites]

Awwww man. I thought I was gonna have time to save up to tie the knot again in the Cultural Center.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Homos getting hitched bitches
posted by PMdixon at 3:27 PM on November 5, 2013 [5 favorites]

And here I finally actually wanted to go to Boystown and the Mr (soon to be legally Mr, though not Mr dixon, because academics also name changing is really kind of weird) is all "I'm too tired"

I love you babe!
posted by PMdixon at 3:29 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Who's going to be 50th?

If you believe Nate Silver, Mississippi.
posted by madcaptenor at 3:32 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

I think the plateau is a ways off. Bet we get to 35 states soon.
posted by LarryC at 3:34 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

anyone who can afford a road trip to an appropriate state will be able to get married and have it count by law back home.

This reminded me of this weird bit of news I heard the other day: Same-sex marriage is not legal in Oregon....but the state agencies will begin recognizing the same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
posted by rtha at 3:39 PM on November 5, 2013

Me: "Do you want to go out and get a drink to celebrate gay marriage?"

Him: "No way -- I heard today that leads to smoking crack."

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:39 PM on November 5, 2013 [6 favorites]

Flowers blasted efforts to equate the fight for same-sex marriage to the fight for civil rights by African Americans.

Homosexuality has nothing to do with race,” Flowers said.

“When I was discriminated against, it wasn’t because of who I was. It was because of the color of our skin,” Flowers said.*

Wwwwaaaaaaaa?


*...without the barest hint of irony or self-awareness -Ed
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 3:39 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

SO relieved. And it's the first time in years I've enjoyed bigoted newspaper comments. You're on the wrong side of history, dudes, deal with it!
posted by agregoli at 3:44 PM on November 5, 2013

I'm taken, MCMikeNamara.
posted by Gary at 3:47 PM on November 5, 2013 [24 favorites]

What's after Hawaii? Oregon? Pennsylvania looks pretty out of place in the north east

I'd give PA at least five more years. Corbett's almost certainly toast and unless he gets primaried next spring, we'll have a democrat as governor but he or (I'm hoping) she won't be able to do anything with the bunch of retro idiots in the legislature.
posted by octothorpe at 4:04 PM on November 5, 2013

"STDs will spread across the islands"

Uh, this shit. Gay marriage. Think about it, dummies!
posted by Sys Rq at 4:30 PM on November 5, 2013 [4 favorites]

MiltonRandKalman: "Flowers blasted efforts to equate the fight for same-sex marriage to the fight for civil rights by African Americans."

My representative, Jehan Gordon-Booth, a downstate African-American Democrat, wrote a couple days ago about her decision to support the measure, and spoke pretty directly to members of the black community in Illinois who were struggling with marriage equality:

As an African-American woman living in downstate Illinois, I am very sensitive to those who resent any comparison between the struggle for equal rights for Americans of color and same-gender Americans seeking the same. I agree that the history and nature of the two movements are different. But there also are ample parallels. Lynchings, beatings, firings, housing discrimination, denial of educational opportunities, mockery and scorn are common evils visited upon both. There are many African Americans in same-sex relationships who have borne the double indignity of Jim Crow and the denial of their right to marry the person they love.

My thinking on this matter has been deeply influenced by the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. [...] The extension of equal rights to citizens currently denied them does not come at the cost of diminishing the rights of others.

It's a thoughtful piece and worth reading. She was receiving a lot of pressure from some black churches in particular, a community that she's always been very close with, and I think she really struggled with her respect for those community leaders but her own ethical compass pointing in a different direction. She does a good job of laying out how as an African-American Christian committed to her community, she sees marriage equality as a necessary extension of Civil Rights, not as an affront to her faith.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:36 PM on November 5, 2013 [17 favorites]

Aw. Isn't that sweet? Someone has given their approval.

Who asked again?
posted by Twang at 4:44 PM on November 5, 2013

I'd give PA at least five more years.

I'm hoping that a combination of Whitewood v. Corbett and a Democratic governor means we won't have to wait that long. But, yes, PA is probably at least two years out.
posted by gladly at 4:44 PM on November 5, 2013

Self-link but, uh, it's just a tumblr post of two graphics, so I think it's okay:

About-to-be-current marriage-equality map compared to "50% of the U.S. lives in these few counties" map.
posted by tzikeh at 4:57 PM on November 5, 2013

Who's going to be 50th?
...
Texas, of course.

Actually, based on the state-by-state polling, Utah is predictably likely to be dead last.

But look at those figures (and these, slightly different sourcing) -- with Illinois, we're getting into states that just five years ago had less than or barely 40% approval of marriage equality. And it's really clear that 18-29 year olds are decades ahead of older cohorts in their support (if only they all voted at the same level).
posted by dhartung at 5:00 PM on November 5, 2013 [2 favorites]

Hooray for my state! This is a great day!

I have to give kudos to Ron Sandack, my state rep. Not only did he vote in favor of the bill, but he was actually the first Republican in the state House to publicly support the bill and he signed on as a cosponsor. I sent him a thank you via Twitter. I wish I could say that my state senator, Christine Radogno, voted the same way - alas, she didn't.
posted by SisterHavana at 5:12 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yay!
posted by xingcat at 5:12 PM on November 5, 2013

Eyebrows McGee,

I have no doubt there are difference and parallels between the civil right movement of the 50s and 60's and gay rights today. What really caught my eye was trying to parse Flower's differentiation between how blacks are discriminated and gays.

“When I was discriminated against, it wasn’t because of who I was. It was because of the color of our skin,” Flowers said.*

That first part of the line boggles me. If one (or said bigot) identify oneself as 'black', then yes Ms. Flowers you are being discriminated because of who you are and not because of the color of your character. I'm not what the heck she's trying to get at but it really irks me that she's (failing) to make some kind of distinction.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:13 PM on November 5, 2013

Utah might flip quickly, depending on whether the Mormon church has one of their famously convenient revelations before the clock ticks down to the last state.
posted by tavella at 5:16 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Happy news.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:57 PM on November 5, 2013

Can we just agree that being black and being gay are not the same thing, and get back to dishing out some righteous justice and equality?
posted by uosuaq at 5:58 PM on November 5, 2013

It's going to be interesting when/if the momentum for state-level marriage equality support reaches a plateau. When the line gets drawn between "these states will easily recognize marriage equality" and "these states will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century."

I think that is going to map pretty heavily on the Slave state/Free State map. Not necessarily 1:1 but close.
posted by edgeways at 7:07 PM on November 5, 2013

Now that we have a democrat back as Governor of Virginia, I'm hopeful that we'll follow soon.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 7:53 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

We may be getting a Democrat (I.e., Not An Extremist!) as the next Virginia governor, but it's looking like the next attorney generalist gonna be Obenshain, the Tea Party poster boy. Dammit.
posted by easily confused at 8:03 PM on November 5, 2013

In case anyone's forgotten, Obenshain is the guy who proposed that women who have miscarried report to the police.
posted by troika at 8:12 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Not so fast! A bunch of NOVA votes came in and Herring just barely (~1k votes) took the lead, with 99% in.
posted by zombieflanders at 8:31 PM on November 5, 2013

Finally! Woo Hoo! About damn time Illinois did something right. Congratulations to all the soon to be married Illinoisans!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:49 PM on November 5, 2013

There are many African Americans in same-sex relationships who have borne the double indignity of Jim Crow and the denial of their right to marry the person they love.

My thinking on this matter has been deeply influenced by the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. [...] The extension of equal rights to citizens currently denied them does not come at the cost of diminishing the rights of others.

Bayard Rustin took a brief break from spinning in his grave, so that he could vigorously applaud.
posted by VikingSword at 10:05 PM on November 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

!
posted by Jacqueline at 11:55 PM on November 5, 2013

Hell, [Indiana's] legislature is expected to try for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the next session.

But then it has to go to the ballot box to be adopted. Part of me hopes that the legislature does pass it, and then it gets defeated on the popular vote, because that would be a more resounding defeat.

Not that I have that much faith in my fellow Hoosiers to vote that way, but I can hope all the same.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:14 AM on November 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

gladly: "I'm hoping that a combination of Whitewood v. Corbett and a Democratic governor means we won't have to wait that long. But, yes, PA is probably at least two years out."

Having a Democrat as Attorney General is a big help, as well.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 AM on November 6, 2013

Hooray for Illinois! Can somebody get me the hell out of Nebraska, please?
posted by Ipsifendus at 11:47 AM on November 6, 2013

This was one of the lovely things that happened in Hawaii during the insanity of the last few days of hears. state Representative and self proclaimed "Christian Hawaiian" Kaniela Ing: "What do you expect our gay brothers to do?" Its lovely and cutting.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:33 PM on November 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

the quidnunc kid: (I dream of the MetaTalk post, when all 50 states have done their duty, which presents a list of every relevant MetaFilter thread, state-by-state; and then we can look back with joy to see how this particular human right spread across America)

(Why wait to look back in joy, when we can create a Wiki page and feel a little bit of joy, state by state, and occasionally looking back at the progress made to date?

You're correct, there's nothing posted yet, but I wanted to share this, and maybe I'll have Eyebrows McGee-like luck, and someone will have filled in the page.)
posted by filthy light thief at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2013

Thanks, Chrysostom, for adding the list of states and territories and starting up the effort. I added a bunch more links, but I'm stopping for now. If anyone is looking for a sortable table with the states and dates, Wikipedia has just that.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2013

Aw. Isn't that sweet? Someone has given their approval.

Who asked again?

Well, the "someone" who gave their approval was a voting member of the general assembly (ILGA). This bill needed 60 votes to pass this with a majority; it passed with 61. Every vote was necessary. Many African-American members of the ILGA who can usually be reliably counted upon to vote favorably on social issues were opposed to this bill, on the basis of voting their district. So while this public statement of approval wasn't "sweet", it was important tactically, both within the African-American community and for the passage of the bill as a whole.

And State Rep Greg Harris asked - the (openly gay) guy who sponsored the bill. He took a lot of grief from some members of the LGBTQ community when he brought this to the floor during the spring session and then pulled it before the actual vote because he could not guarantee it was going to pass.

Just to give you a sense of how close this could have been yesterday, this was also going on at the same time: One of the definite Yes votes, Rep Jakobsson, left the deathbed of her son to drive to Springfield (~2 hours from her home) to cast her vote.

I had heard they were trying to hold the vote for Jakobsson; I had no idea why. If she had missed it and even one other rep voted no or abstained, the bill would have failed. We don't know if any of the dissenting AA reps took cover behind the remarks of Rep. Gordon-Booth, but if they did, her statement is then a major reason this bill passed.
posted by deliciae at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2013 [5 favorites]

More on Rep. Jakobsson, and on Rep. Yingling who proposed to his partner at the party after the bill passed, in front of their children and the Governor, if you'd like to watch a happy video and engage in some high-quality weeping.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:37 PM on November 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Hawaii makes 16.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:14 AM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Just to be clear, the Hawaii Senate still needs to vote again, since the bill was amended - this will happen Tuesday - and the governor needs to sign it. The House was the critical hurdle, but Hawaii isn't QUITE 16 yet.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:42 PM on November 9, 2013

By the same token, depending on which Gov actually signs first, HI could actually be 15 and IL 16
posted by edgeways at 3:12 PM on November 9, 2013

Most of us out here saw the House as the big obstacle. It should easily pass the Senate again - though few of us would mind if the amendments were stripped.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:07 PM on November 9, 2013

If we need to set an order, it seems to me that the order should be based on the dates in which same-sex couples can actually get a marriage recognized by the state, which would be Dec. 2 for Hawaii, but not until June 1, 2014, for Illinois, assuming both are enacted with no further changes.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:57 AM on November 11, 2013

Hawaii Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill
posted by Chrysostom at 3:55 PM on November 12, 2013 [3 favorites]

At long, long last.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:38 AM on November 13, 2013

Actually, thank you very much, Hawaii signed it into law first so we're 15th.

The order isn't important, though. What's important is that marriage equality has now come to 16 states. Its not quite a third of all states, but its pretty damn close.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:47 PM on November 13, 2013

Also, here is the signing ceremony in Hawaii, with music, chant and speechifying.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:07 PM on November 13, 2013

Luckily a kind-hearted Catholic bishop in Illinois thought to do this today.
posted by heyho at 7:05 AM on November 20, 2013

Livesteam to Illinois signing ceremony.

All female choir singing "On the Street Where You Live" opening.

May or may not be causing me to tear up at my desk.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:30 PM on November 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

Thanks for posting that link, MCMikeNamara! This is wonderful.
posted by troika at 1:42 PM on November 20, 2013

Judge Allows Terminally Ill Chicago Woman To Marry Her Parter Before Gay Marriage Law Takes Effect

posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:18 AM on November 26, 2013 [1 favorite]