Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan published an Op-Ed in the Chicago Tribune calling on Illinois lawmakers to approve the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples in the state. She writes:

A ban on same-sex marriage violates the state Constitution's equal protection clause. The law does not allow the state or federal government to create a separate class of marriage based on a person's sexual orientation. There is no other way to describe this than to call it discrimination. That is why, in state court, I have intervened in a lawsuit challenging Illinois' current marriage law, and at the federal level, my office has filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court that support overturning California's same-sex marriage ban and finding the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Legal arguments aside, this issue at its heart is about one of the most fundamental decisions we can make — with whom to share our lives. In every community in Illinois, same-sex couples have chosen to join together and, in many instances, to raise families of their own. These couples are our relatives and friends, our neighbors, co-workers and parents of our children's classmates. They deserve the same rights and responsibilities that civil marriage offers straight couples.

Read the whole thing.

The Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Anthony Romero, wrote in the Huffington Post about the Boston marathon bombings, and the rights fought for by the founders of our nation:

In our democracy -- a nation of immigrants -- the thing that binds us together is not a common language or race or religion, but our commitment to certain inalienable rights. The right to remain silent. The right to confront your accuser in a court of law. The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Self-evident truths. It all began in Boston -- when a group of brave colonists resisted the yoke of a despotic king and sought freedom. Protecting Tsarnaev's constitutional rights is the best tribute we could give to the storied legacy of that great city where our freedoms and rights first took hold.

Read the whole thing.