Illinois: Fifteenth same-sex marriage state (UPDATE)
on Nov 5, 2013 at 6:13 pm
The state legislature in Illinois on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill to permit same-sex couples to get married in that state. Gov. Pat Quinn has announced that he will sign the measure when it reaches his desk. The measure goes into effect next June. The full text of the measure can be read here. (UPDATE: An earlier version of this post said the bill would take effect in 30 days. That was changed before final passage.)
Illinois thus will become the fifteenth state to allow such marriages, and the seventh to do so by state legislation. The city of Washington, D.C., also allows such marriages, under a local law passed in 2009. Same-sex marriage rights have been created by court rulings in five states, and by voter-approved ballot measures in three states.
The movement toward allowing such marriage began with a ruling by the highest state court of Massachusetts ten years ago. Two years ago, same-sex marriages were allowed in six states, plus Washington, D.C., with nine more states following since then.
