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| Illinois Governor Pat Quinn |
Dear Reader,
In less than two month the law allowing same-sex
marriage will go into effect in the Illinois. The bill was passed in November
last year but couples will be able to register their marriage only starting
from June 1. This way, Illinois is the 16th state in the USA to
legalize gay marriage.
Nevertheless, according to U.S. District Judge
Sharon Johnson Coleman, marriage license can be issued before that date if one
of the partners has life-threatening illness. She said that waiting until June
to get marry “violates the couples' rights to equal protection under the U.S.
Constitution”.
Cook County Clerk David Orr received numerous
requests and was sued by gay couples for the right to register their marriage
before June 1. In response he showed his support and said that his office in
Chicago will start issuing licenses for gay couples. However, Cook is the only
county in the state that registers same-sex couples so far, which doesn’t seem
fair for residents of other parts of the state.
For now the situation doesn’t change, Chicago is the
only place in the Illinois county where gay couples can get married. Otherwise,
they have to wait till June 1 when the law will come into effect.
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