We have tried, but for two years now, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has effectively killed the marriage amendment bill by assigning it to the Rules Committee**. If it were to come before the entire General Assembly, we are confident that it would receive the needed two-thirds vote needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

[**NOTE: In a letter-to-the-editor of the Chicago Free Press (a homosexual newspaper), Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network and Blake Wilkinson of Equal Marriage Now brag about their success in thwarting the people’s right to amend their state constitution, saying, that the “various bills for amendments are successfully bottled up in committees by Democrats and a few Republican moderates who have made the political calculation that, for the time being, their political futures are best served by not handing the most ardently conservative Republicans an issue. This is a marriage of convenience between these politicians and some LGBT leaders, a marriage which could be unceremoniously annulled if public opinion shifts.”]

To date, 19 states have passed protection of marriage amendments by an average vote of over 72 percent. The American people overwhelmingly and clearly reject the idea that marriage could be anything but the union of one man and one woman. This is an issue that the citizens of Illinois are now motivated about and wish to see passed.

Yes, absolutely. The constitution is a place to enshrine fundamental rights, basic liberties and the limitations of government.  Granted, the founders of our country would have readily held the truths of marriage to be “self evident,” however; today marriage is under attack by a tiny minority of activist and public officials who are usurping their role and authority by ignoring the will of the American people, and by making new policy from the bench instead of interpreting the law.

Illinois’ DOMA law currently defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.  But as we saw in Massachusetts, DOMA can be declared it unconstitutional.  In theory, an amendment to the constitution cannot be declared unconstitutional.

We should not wait until there is a fire before we install fire sprinklers. It is why we are being pro-active, seeking to establish marriage as a matter of constitutional law before activist judges strike DOMA down here in Illinois. Currently there are several different law suits in state and federal courts challenging DOMA as unconstitutional. It is safer to define marriage constitutionally and protect it in advance of activist judges who wish to illegitimately strike it down.