Tag Archives: ZZ: Darby v. Orr

Lambda Legal: Today plaintiff couples in Darby v. Orr and Lazaro v. Orr, the lawsuits brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois seeking the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Illinois, met with legislators to urge them to vote in favor of a bill ending the ban on marriage for same-sex couples in Illinois. The bill, House Bill 5710, The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, could be voted on by the Illinois General Assembly in January 2013.

Democratic Underground: . . . judge Sophia Hall is a lesbian and claiming that means she should recuse herself in the case. The Cook County circuit court judge is handling a challenge to the constitutionality of state laws that define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Christian Newswire: Today, Judge Sophia Hall of the Cook County Circuit Court granted the Thomas More Society’s motion to intervene on behalf of two downstate county clerks in Illinois’ same-sex marriage case brought by the ACLU and Lambda Legal. The motion was not opposed by the other parties in the case.

One News Now: Two Illinois county clerks have received permission to defend the state’s gay marriage ban in court.

The Thomas More Society has issued this press release (pdf) with document links.

Gina Miller at Renew America: Thanks to the Lord, the Illinois Family Institute has the support of the Alliance Defense Fund and the Thomas More Society. Through the Alliance Defense Fund, they will be filing a motion to intervene in this case to defend the Illinois marriage law against this wicked assault . . . Pray for the State of Illinois and for those who are fighting for the side of truth. Pray for the Illinois Family Institute, the Alliance Defense Fund and the Thomas More Society, and as always, consider sending financial support to these groups.

Today’s announcement by State’s Attorney Alvarez makes it clear that this lawsuit was an ‘inside job’ from the beginning, a crass political move to force same sex marriage on all Illinoisans without providing the residents of the other 101 counties an opportunity to be heard.

Chicago Tribune (includes video): The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office concedes in a court filing today that the state’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, according to a spokeswoman.

TeutopolisPress.com: State Representative David Reis (R-Ste. Marie) is calling upon Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to recuse herself and the resources of her taxpayer-funded state office from supporting two lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of Illinois’ gay marriage ban

Chicago Phoenix: “As we feared, civil unions have not turned out to be equal to civil marriages,” Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said in a statement. “In area after area, couples were either treated unequally or denied their rights. As we learned in history, separate does not make equal.”

MetroWeekly: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) will be joining Lambda Legal and the ACLU in arguing that Illinois’s civil unions law does not meet the state’s constitutional guarantees of equal protection, raising the question of what the Cook County clerk of courts — the named defendant — will do in its response to the lawsuits.

One News Now: “Because yes, they do want the benefits — but what homosexuals want centrally is cultural approval,” explains the family advocate. “They want there to be no formal public recognition that homosexual unions are different from heterosexual unions.”

World Magazine: Smith added that IFI is working with the Alliance Defense Fund to see whether his group has standing to oppose the lawsuits and to evaluate the legal options. The situation “is discouraging for a lot of reasons,” said Laurie Higgins, a cultural analyst for IFI, not least because the Illinois news media are declining to address key issues. For example, she pointed out, gay rights proponents insist that marriage has nothing to do with gender or having children—but if marriage is just about subjective feelings, why should the government be involved at all?

USA Today: The two lawsuits filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and advocacy group Lambda Legal challenge Illinois marriage law on a constitutional basis. | Lambda Legal PR and case information page | ACLU press release