Civil union bill passes House committee

Civil union bill passes House committee
by Amy Wooten
Copyright by The Windy City Times
2007-03-21


On Wed., March 21, a civil union bill passed the Illinois House Human Services Committee with a vote of 5-4.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, went before the committee to advance HB 1826, the Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act, which would grant same-sex couples many of the benefits and protections of civil marriage. The next step will be for the bill to go to the full House for consideration.

In February, Harris introduced HB 1615, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. Harris introduced a new bill because after speaking with colleagues, he found many could not support same-sex marriage rights and did not want to enter into a marriage debate. However, he wanted to find a way to grant same-sex couples legal protections as soon as possible.

Like the previous bill, it includes that a religious denomination does not have to recognize a civil union or perform a commitment ceremony if it feels it conflicts with its beliefs and tradition.