Republican Sen. Mark Kirk Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Sen. Mark Kirk expressed his support of same-marriage in a statement on his personal blog Tuesday.

  Senator Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park), is now the second Republican senator to announce his support of same-sex marriage, reports the Huffington Post. On his blog, Kirk wrote: When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others. Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back-- government has no place in the middle. Kirk is the 50th senator to back gay marriage and only the second Republican senator to express his support after Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who changed his position after his son revealed he was gay, according …

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Poll: Is Gay Marriage A Constitutional Right?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases involving gay marriage.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases involving gay marriage this week. A ruling on the cases – one involving the federal government's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the other a challenge to California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage – should come in June. "A decision saying that DOMA is unconstitutional because it discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation, and requiring the federal government to give full recognition to the existing marriages of same-sex couples, would be a huge victory," Paul Smith of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Jenner & Block told NBC News. Essentially, DOMA could be overturned on the grounds that it is discriminatory in denying benefits on the basis of sexual orientation…

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Sully

3:14 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2013

So Lennie, not only are you going to ignore me for providing facts you don't like, you're going to ignore any poster who presents facts that don't match what you believe. You see, this is normally the time when someone with opposing views provides some sort of basis for those views and maybe debates. You do neither. You make excuses.   more ›

Patch Chatter

Cardinal George Says Same-Sex Marriage Is 'Against The Common Good', Do You Agree?

Cardinal Francis George releases a strongly worded letter as the State Legislature moves closer to a vote on gay marriage.

As gay marriage moves closer to a vote in the Illinois General Assembly, Cardinal Francis George has released a letter attacking the notion of same-sex marriage itself and urging Catholics to voice their objections.  A vote could happen in the Senate as soon as today as lawmakers look to pass the legislation during the lame duck session. Illinois would become the 10th state in the country to allow same-sex marriages. In his letter, George argued that because same-sex marriages cannot be consummated and are not undertaken for the purpose of conceiving children that government, "has no power to create something that nature itself tells us is impossible." He qualifies his argument by writing that the Catholic church offers support for the gay…

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Poll: Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?

President Barack Obama said that he supported gay marriage this week, while Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.

  Gay marriage came to the forefront of the 2012 presidential campaign this week. President Barack Obama said on ABC's Good Morning America that he personally supported gay marriage. "You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently," Obama said in the interview with ABC. Obama's support for gay marriage came one day after North Carolina passed an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the Huffington Post Reported. Republican …

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Bob Blinick

4:05 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012

But marriage is steeped in both legal issues and intensely personal ones. I cannot name them, but married people have both rights and obligations with regard to medical decisions, visitation and access, social security/pension, property rights, and perhaps a thousand more. Therefore, it does affect the legal standing of each as to whether the couple is married. Second, marriage is a declaration …   more ›

Civil Union Bill Passes Both Houses, Gov. Quinn Pledges Signature

The bill now moves to Gov. Pat Quinn, who has already pledged to sign it into law.

The Illinois Senate passed a historical vote Wednesday afternoon: Legislation now recognizes civil unions among gay and lesbian couples. And with Gov. Pat Quinn already on board, it's just a matter of time before he signs the bill and makes it official. Cook County Clerk Daivd Orr said he was very pleased that Illinois finally took this "crucial step" toward equailty. "While religions function under their own rules, government cannot and should not discriminate against any group of people," Orr said. "As a longtime supporter of civil unions, I anxiously await the day I issue the first license in Cook County."

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