Thirteen African-American pastors and religious leaders gathered in Chicago this week to express their support for the freedom to marry, writes Tina Sfondeles of the Chicago Sun-Times. The pastors urged support for Senate Bill 10, in the Illinois House of Representatives.

“Discrimination is wrong no matter who the target is. . . . This is about equality and justice,” said the Rev. Richard Tolliver, pastor of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church on the South Side. “This is a matter of equal protection under the law for all citizens. This is not a religious issue.”

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The ACLU of Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell wrote a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune addressing columnist Eric Posner's call for DNA testing of all arrestees. Connell points out that large numbers of arrestees are never prosecuted, and others are cleared of any wrongdoing. Moreover, she writes:

Recent studies demonstrate that the DNA collected in the national database already reveals predictive information about an individual's medical and mental health. Even if this personal information is revealed, Posner suggests, we need not worry since laws exist to "deter" government from sharing or selling this personal information to insurance companies and others who will have a significant interest in such data.

But the laws that prohibit such sharing of personal information can be lifted in short order, or done so retroactively.

Read the whole thing.