On Valentine's Day, The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act (SB10) passed 34-21-2-2 in the Illinois Senate. And on Tuesday night before 10:30 p.m., the House Executive Committee voted 6-5 to send it to the full House for its vote, which will most likely occur within the next two weeks.
As SB10 gets closer to a full vote in the Illinois House of Representatives, it is important to consider the benefits of allowing same-sex marriage in Illinois (a letter that I wrote to this paper in more detail that was featured in the Jan. 30 edition).
I want to add more points about this issue:
* As a Christian who believes in religious freedom and attends church every Sunday, it is both the right thing and the Christian thing to endorse this bill's passage because of its religious freedom protections, even if the majority of the attenders of my church (Grace Baptist Church in Granite City) oppose the bill.
* As a resident of Illinois, it is the smart thing to pass the bill in support of giving couples who love each other -- irrespective of sexual orientation -- the freedom to marry whoever they choose.
* When same-sex marriage finally becomes the law here in the Land of Lincoln, it will improve the Supreme Court's chances of ruling in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and/or California's Proposition 8 that was passed in 2008.
Contact your state representative to vote "yes" on SB10.
Justin Gibson
Granite City
