The blog Joe. My. God. posted about the ACLU of Illinois' joint case with Lambda Legal and the recent filing of a motion for summary judgment in the marriage case. While the U.S. Supreme Court has recently ruled portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, action is needed to bring the freedom to marry to Illinois.

Wednesday's Motion for Summary Judgment will be supported by friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of numerous organizations including the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF), The Chicago Bar Association, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, and The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law by attorneys Paul T. Fox, Gregory E. Ostfeld and James P. Madigan of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and on behalf of faith leaders across the state of Illinois, by attorneys Alexandra K. Block, Edward W. Feldman, and Nury A. Siekkinen of Miller Shakman & Beem, LLP, in support of marriage for same-sex couples.

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The Chicago Tribune previewed the 2013 LGBT Pride Parade, which took place days after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The ACLU of Illinois has played a central role in the Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition, which is seeking to pass a bill that would grant marriage for same-sex couples in Illinois. The Chicago Tribune spoke with LGBT Project Director John Knight:

John Knight, an attorney and director of the LGBT and HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Chicago, agreed that the high court's ruling — which assured the federal government will recognize same-sex marriages — brought a much-needed dose of optimism.

"It was incredibly frustrating to be that close and to see that marriage bill fail," Knight said. "But I think the mental uplift of seeing the last federal law that explicitly discriminated against gay people taken off the books gives us a great deal of hope that it's just clearly inevitable marriage is going to be real in Illinois — and very soon."

Read the whole thing.

 

The ACLU is fighting hard nationally and in Illinois to bring the freedom to marry to same sex couples. Learn more: