Colo. fast tracks civil unions; Ill. mulls marriage

Illinois State Capitol (Photo by Meagan Davis via wikimedia commons)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Same-sex couples in both the Mile High City and the Windy City are optimistic that 2013 may be their year.

Lambda Legal announced last week after conversations with lawmakers that the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act could come to a vote in the lower house as early as January, which would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in that state. The bill was filed by gay lawmakers Greg Harris, Deb Mell and Kelly Cassidy soon after two lawsuits were filed against the state by Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois contesting the existing law, which allows same-sex couples civil unions but not marriages.

In Colorado, a civil unions bill is on a “fast track to passage,” according to the Denver Post.

“Colorado is poised to become the ninth state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to form civil unions,” the paper reports. “After two years of fighting over the issue, the Republicans who controlled the House and killed the measure are out of power, paving the way for a civil unions bill to head to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who supports legal recognition for same-sex couples.”

Unlike Illinois, recognition of same-sex marriage is barred in Colorado’s constitution.