Both are introduced this week. Expect swift action --
Illinois:
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Ill-Marriage-to-be-considered-as-early-as-tomorrow/40987.html
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130102/news/701029816/
Rhode Island:
Also expect votes to come up this year (and pass) in Hawaii, Delaware, Minnesota and possibly New Jersey.
Marriage equality is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, Washington D.C., New York, Washington, Maine, and Maryland.
Illinois:
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Ill-Marriage-to-be-considered-as-early-as-tomorrow/40987.html
Years of pushing by marriage equality advocates in Illinois, could result in movement as soon as tomorrow.
The Senate will be in session Wednesday afternoon, and LGBT leaders say that a vote on a bill seeking gay marriage is likely to come sooner rather than later.
Sen. Heather Steans tells Windy City Times that she wants to see a vote on Thursday.
"Contact your legislators," Steans said.
Steans said the bill should be in committee tomorrow evening by 5:30 p.m. She intends to call the bill to a vote on Thursday, she said.
But anything is possible, she added. Several lawmakers have been on vacation for the holidays, and absences may delay a vote.
Both the House and Senate have until Jan. 9, when new legislators are sworn in, to pass a bill. Failing that deadline, LGBT supporters would have to begin lobbying efforts with a fresh set of lawmakers next session. Still, they would be doing so with a Democratic supermajority.
But Steans has indicated to local media that she believes the votes are close and that she hopes to pass the bill in the Senate so that it can be sent on to the House early next week.
That has LGBT rights activists traveling to Springfield tomorrow to lobby for the bill.
LGBT activists and pro-gay lawmakers are urging supports to call their legislators immediately, regardless of their stance, and ask them to support the bill.
Windy City Times will continue to update our marriage coverage throughout the week. Check back for updates.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130102/news/701029816/
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles is calling GOP lawmakers asking them to support a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, he said today.
Brady said he was making the calls as a citizen, outside of his official role with the Illinois Republican Party.
"I think it's time for people to support this," Brady said.
And on the other side, Chicago Cardinal Francis George has released a letter urging lawmakers to reject making Illinois the next state to allow same-sex marriages.
"Marriage comes to us from nature. The human species comes in two complementary sexes, male and female. Their sexual union is called marital," the letter reads. "It not only creates a place of love for two adults but also a home for loving and raising their children. It provides the biological basis forpersonal identity."
Lawmakers in Springfield could begin debating the issue at a hearing as early as tonight. Lawmakers approved civil unions two years ago by narrow margins, so a vote on same-sex marriage could be similarly close.
The Illinois Senate is set to convene this afternoon, and same-sex marriage and gun control are two controversial issues lawmakers might begin discussing.
The high-profile debate over teachers' and state workers' pensions isn't likely to continue until the Illinois House convenes on Sunday.
A new class of lawmakers is set to be sworn in Jan. 9, when all legislation resets. Supporters of controversial proposals of all kinds see the about three dozen lame-duck members in Springfield as possible keys to winning approval.
Rhode Island:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Legislation allowing gay couples to marry in Rhode Island will be introduced on Thursday, the bill's longtime sponsor, state Rep. Arthur Handy, said Tuesday, the opening day of the 2013 General Assembly session.
Handy, a Cranston Democrat, said the bill is already drafted, but that he needs Wednesday's second legislative day to gather signatures from co-sponsors, who will include openly gay House Speaker Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence.
A key point of debate will be how the bill addresses concerns from religious groups.
Handy has said that the legislation will include, as it has in past versions, language granting religious groups protections, if they object to same sex unions as a matter of their religious beliefs.
Citing the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, a 2011 version of Handy's gay marriage bill stated that every religious institution has "exclusive control over its own religious doctrine, policy, and teachings regarding who may marry within their faith, and on what terms."
It declared that "no court or other state or local governmental body, entity, agency or commission shall compel, prevent, or interfere in any way with any religious institution's decisions about marriage eligibility within that particular faith's tradition."
And it stated that "ordained clergy, ministers or elders [...] shall not be obligated or otherwise required by law to officiate at any particular civil marriage or religious rite of marriage."
Also expect votes to come up this year (and pass) in Hawaii, Delaware, Minnesota and possibly New Jersey.
Marriage equality is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, Washington D.C., New York, Washington, Maine, and Maryland.