Equality Illinois and Harris pushing for civil unions votes

Equality Illinois and Harris pushing for civil unions votes
By Matt Simonette
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
August 27, 2007

Equality Illinois last week announced that it collected over 2,000 postcards during Northalsted Market Days registering support for HB1826, the Illinois Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act, which would allow civil unions for same-sex couples in Illinois.

The postcards, which Equality Illinois distributed in conjunction with PFLAG, were signed by voters from 91 of 118 legislative districts in the state and are being forwarded to state legislators.

Equality Illinois political director Rick Garcia said Northalsted Market Days was an obvious time to collect signatures.

“We had a captive audience there. The crowd was mostly gay, but most of the other people there would be supportive,” Garcia said. He added, “Legislators do listen. While it’s not as effective as a handwritten letter, a hand-signed postcard is a pretty powerful thing.”

Garcia said one upside to the legislative impasse in Springfield is that it has afforded more time to raise awareness over HB1826.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), agreed, saying, “We have a lot of time to talk to people about this. That’s one silver lining in a very dark cloud.”

Harris said the process has come down to educating and convincing those legislators who don’t yet understand what the bill entails.

“The first votes are easy—those are your true believers. Then you have to get votes from people who are on the fence. But with the last handful of votes, each vote is difficult,” Harris said.

“You never know what is going the ingredient that pushes them into the ‘plus’ column. You have to work every single angle,” he added.