News
Illinois poised to enact marriage equality
Obama hails action making home state 15th to legalize gay nuptials
The Illinois State House approved marriage equality legislation (Photo by Meagan Davis via wikimedia commons).
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. & CHRIS JOHNSON
The Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday approved legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state; the Senate quickly followed suit, clearing the way for approval by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who has promised to sign the bill.
When the governor gives his stamp of approval of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act, as expected, the legislation would take effect June 1, 2014, making Illinois the 15th state plus the District of Columbia to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
State Rep. Greg Harris, who’s gay, closed the debate on the legislation by acknowledging that people hold many different views on the issue, but the right action is a “yes” vote.
“At the end of the day, what this bill is about is love, what it’s about is family, what it’s about is commitment,” Harris said.
Following the remarks, Harris held up an American flag he said he received from an Illinois soldier currently serving in Afghanistan. Harris said the soldier asked him to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois, so when he returns home, he could marry.
President Obama praised the vote in a statement released Tuesday night.
“Tonight, I applaud the men and women of the Illinois General Assembly, a body in which I was proud to serve, for voting to legalize marriage equality in my home state,” said President Barack Obama in a statement released by the White House.
“As president, I have always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally under the law,” he said. “So tonight, Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours – and for their friends and family who have long wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and equally under the law.”
Following nearly three hours of debate, the Illinois House voted 61-54 to approve the legislation under rules that required 60 votes to pass the measure in the 118-member body. Two members voted “present” and another was absent.
The vote came after the Illinois Senate voted 34-21 to approve a slightly different version of the bill on Feb. 14. The Senate voted quickly to approve a slightly revised House bill.
The House version includes a change of the date on which the law would take effect and expands the exemption for religious or religious affiliated private organizations, such as the Knights of Columbus, from having to allow their facilities to be used for same-sex weddings or celebrations.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a lesbian, also spoke on the floor, saying the bill is personally important to her because it would send a message to her family and other families like hers in the state that “it does get better.”
“This bill goes directly to how I am defined, how our family is defined by the state,” Cassidy said.
State Rep. Sam Yingling, who’s gay, similarly referenced his family, saying the legislation is important to him and his three children. Addressing assertions the bill provides insufficient protections to religious institutions, Yingling gave assurances there are “vast protections under this bill.”
“My God stands with me and my family today as we are all created in his image and he never turns his back on his children,” Yingling said.
Deputy Majority Rep. Lou Lang spoke out in favor of the bill by decrying the arguments that opponents have used against it, which he said includes accusations the bill opens the door to litigation and polygamy.
“Where do any of you read that in this legislation?” Lang said. “My guess is that some of the people who have said that haven’t even read the bill.”
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz read a letter she said was from a child adopted by a gay male couple, becoming teary-eyed when she came to a part where the child wrote that her previous foster parents had broken their promise to provide love, but not her gay adoptive parents.
Although the bill was initially written to go into effective immediately, it was amended to make the effective date June 1 to lessen the votes needed for passage during the veto session.
Lawmakers opposing the bill said it would take away religious freedom in the state by redefining marriage and challenging the religious beliefs of those whose faith tells them marriage must be a union only between a man and a woman.
“Real marriage is the building block of human civilization,” the Chicago Tribune quoted Republican Rep. Tom Morrison as saying.
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said the vote was “a victory for all families and their children” in the state.
“It was a victory for hundreds of clergy who joined forces in support of the law, and for scores of major employers who made the business case for equality, and for parents who just wanted all their children to be treated the same,” Cherkasov said.
Anthony Martinez, executive director of The Civil Rights Agenda, an Illinois LGBT rights organization, credited rank and file LGBT people and their supporters throughout the state for pushing their representatives in the legislature to support the marriage equality bill in a campaign that took several years.
“It’s taken thousands of Illinoisans to do the heavy lifting to get to this point, contacting their representatives and just normal, everyday folks speaking out as to why they feel this is something Illinois should adopt,” he said. “So we’ve been aggressively pursuing it and it feels so good to finally be here.”
State Department
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
April 20 memo outlined anti-transgender rule
Democracy Forward on Tuesday filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records on the State Department’s new bathroom policy.
A memo titled “Updates Regarding Biological Sex and Intimate Spaces, Including Restrooms” that the State Department issued on April 20 notes employees can no longer use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“The administration affirms that there are two sexes — male and female — and that federal facilities should operate on this objective and longstanding basis to ensure consistency, privacy, and safety in shared spaces,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot told the Daily Signal, a conservative news website that first reported on the memo. “In line with President Trump’s executive order this provides clear, uniform guidance to the department by grounding policy in biological sex as determined at birth.”
President Donald Trump shortly after he took office in January 2025 issued an executive order that directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: male and female. The sweeping directive also ordered federal government agencies to “effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.”
Democracy Forward’s FOIA request that the Washington Blade exclusively obtained on Tuesday is specifically seeking a copy of the memo that details the State Department’s new bathroom policy. Democracy Forward has also requested “all” memo-specific communications between the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs and the Daily Signal from April 1-21.
Federal Government
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Measures would restrict federal funding for LGBTQ-affirming schools
Republicans have been gaining ground in reshaping education policy to be less inclusive toward LGBTQ students at the state level, and now they are turning their focus to Capitol Hill.
Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for a nationwide “Don’t Say Gay” bill, doubling down on their commitment to being the party of “traditional family values” by excluding anyone who does not identify with their sex at birth.
The largest anti-LGBTQ education legislation to reach the House chamber is House Bill 2616 — the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or the PROTECT Kids Act. The PROTECT Kids Act, proposed by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Robert Onder (R-Mo.), and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), would require any public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funding to require parental consent to change a child’s gender expression in school.
The bill, which was discussed during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing, would specifically require any schools that get federal money from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 — which was created to minimize financial discrepancies in education for low-income students — to get parental approval before identifying any child’s gender identity as anything other than what was provided to the school initially. This includes getting approval before allowing children to use their preferred locker room or bathroom.
It reads that any school receiving this funding “shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
LGBTQ rights advocates have criticized both national and state efforts to require parental permission to use a child’s preferred gender identity, as it raises issues of at-home safety — especially if the home is not LGBTQ-affirming — and could lead to the outing of transgender or gender-curious students.
A follow-up bill, HB 2617, proposed by Owens, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, prevents the use of federal funding to “advance concepts related to gender ideology,” using the definition from President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14168, making that an enshrined definition in law of sex rather than just by executive order. There is also a bill making its way through the senate with the same text— Senate Bill 2251.
Advocates have also criticized this follow-up legislation, as it would restrict school staff — including teachers and counselors — from acknowledging trans students’ identities or providing any support. They have said that this kind of isolation can worsen mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth and allows for education to be politicized rather than being based in reality.
David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of government affairs, called this legislation out for using LGBTQ children as political pawns in an ideology fight — one that could greatly harm the safety of these children if passed.
“Trans kids are not a political agenda — they are students who deserve safety and affirmation at school like anyone else,” Stacy said in a statement. “Despite the many pressing issues facing our nation, House Republicans continue their bizarre obsession with trans people. H.R. 2616 does not protect children. It targets them. This bill is cruel, and we’re prepared to fight it.”
This is similar to Florida House Bills 1557 and 1069, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and “Don’t Say They” bill, respectively, restricting classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity, prohibiting the use of pronouns consistent with one’s gender identity, expanding book banning procedures, and censoring health curriculum.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 233 bills related to restricting student and educator rights in the U.S.
Botswana’s government has repealed a provision of its colonial-era penal code that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The country’s High Court in 2019 struck down the provision. The Batswana government in 2022 said it would abide by the ruling after country’s Court of Appeals upheld it.
The government on March 26 announced the repeal of the penal code’s “unnatural offenses” section that specifically referenced any person who “has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” and “permits any other person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature.”
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana, a Batswana advocacy group known by the acronym LEGABIBO, challenged the criminalization law with the support of the Southern Africa Litigation Center. LEGABIBO in a statement it posted to its Facebook on April 25 welcomed the repeal.
“For many, these provisions were not just words on paper — they were lived realities,” said LEGABIBO. “They affected access to healthcare, safety, employment, and the freedom to love and exist openly.”
“LEGABIBO believes that the deletion of these sections is a necessary and long-overdue step toward restoring dignity and aligning our legal framework with constitutional values of equality and human rights,” it added. “It is a clear message that LGBTIQ+ persons are not criminals, and that their lives and relationships deserve protection, not punishment.”
LEGABIBO further stressed that “while this does not erase the harm of the past, it creates space for healing, inclusion, and continued progress toward full equality.”
Democracy Forward files FOIA request for State Department bathroom policy records
House Republicans push nationwide ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Botswana repeals colonial-era sodomy law
LGBTQ people are leaving Orthodox Judaism behind
Madonna makes rare club appearance in West Hollywood
Adoption under suspicion
Why we need to recognize and celebrate Lesbian Day of Visibility
Calendar: April 24-30
DC Center marks one year at new location
