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Illinois Democrats Put Off LGBT Rights...Again

By Ameriqueer
Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Illinois Democrats Put Off LGBT Rights...Again:
"Gays and lesbians can go ahead and scratch Civil Unions off their holiday wish list this season, as a Nov. 30 deadline for moving on Civil Unions legislation passed with almost no action by the Democratic-controlled Illinois legislature -- except to create a new deadline nearly half a year away.

The fact that the deadline was missed comes as no surprise, considering the state legislature has been adjourned for weeks and is not scheduled to meet again until Jan. 12. Still, this is just one more turn in a complex holding pattern the state Democrats have locked this bill into."

Doesn't this just piss you off? I think we definitely need more out gay lawmakers. If Illinois--a state that borders Iowa--was to pass civil unions or equal marriage, our ballot procedure would make it very difficult to overturn at the polls. IF we ever get it passed, that is. We would need a miracle.

Ed Mullen and Jim Madigan would take the number of openly gay lawmakers in Springfield from 2 to 4--and Jim would be the only out gay Senator. We'd have our presence in both houses. Not just friendly allies, but folks personally invested in the passage of this bill. Greg Harris can't do it alone! Especially when the Senate has been such a dead zone for motion on any LGBT bills since our employment discrimination law passed.

Ed and Jim are going up against the machine, however, and they're going to need hundreds of thousands in their coffers in the next month to really make a stand. I will be presenting information about both Victory Fund endorsed fellas on Bilerico early next week, but I hope you start giving now. To check out Ed Mullen go to voteedmullen.com. And to check out Jim Madigan, check out Jimmadigan.com.

Even if you don't live in Illinois, you ought to be concerned with these two races. Illinois will be the next midwestern battleground for relationship recognition, and because its more difficult to get a measure on the ballot here, could be another permanent win. We need one of those soon.

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