November 4, 2013
Clergy Letter Asks IL House to OK Gay Marriage
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A coalition of clergy members and faith leaders has sent a letter to Illinois House members encouraging them to support gay marriage.
The letter has more than 300 signatures, and says allowing committed same-sex couples to marry is "morally just."
The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield this week and supporters of gay marriage hope the House will take up the bill, which passed in the Illinois Senate on Valentine's Day.
They say the bill would not require any church, mosque or synagogue to marry same-sex couples if it disagrees with the practice.
A coalition of black ministers has strongly opposed gay marriage, including with robocalls asking people to urge their lawmakers to vote against it.
A lawsuit challenging Illinois' ban on gay marriage is pending in state court.
