Good news, I guess…although it is ‘cup half full’ goodness.I do hope all who get UNITED to begin calling themselves married, and if they need to argue about that they should learn how.

Or even?“or even visiting partners in hospitals”
This makes is sound like this is the biggest issue there. Visitation rights shouldn’t even require a law. I don’t get why this is such a big deal.

Good news absolutelyCivil Unions will give families the vital legal protections they currently have zero access to while the fight for marriage equality proceeds.  This will be a huge win for the safety and security of gay and lesbian families.  

I think it’s one of the more universally understandable issuesand that is why it is always mentioned.

Thank you, LurleenI’ve been getting downright pissed at folks in the blogosphere that are downplaying the significance of this civil union bill.
One thing I like about this campaign in Illinois is that we’ve been pretty upfront about the fact that we (the Illinois LGBT community) see this as an incremental step, not the be all and end all of everything.
If folks other places think that they can come in here and get gay marriage passed in Illinois, they are welcome to try.
Until then, just STFU (esp. California folks).

It does more than that.I believe it also allows for medical decisions and such.  It does more than is stated, but, of course, not nearly enough.

IT PASSED 32-24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE PASSAGE IN ILLINOIS!!!Yay!

Yippee!!So, a swath of July Unions!

I’m not sure I can think of a better winter solstice gift for Porno Pete and the other Illinois Ignoramuses

Hey!Here’s some CA love for y’all.
Congrats on this huge step. It’s a great win, and should make a lot of folks feel a whole lot better.
I hope marriage will be in the picture in the near future.

I suspect this makes his sort secretly pleased.It’s not like it’s marriage, after all, and it gives him rant and fund-raising material.

I second Lurleen, but I add……that you don’t need Civil Unions to get visitation.  If I am not mistaken, in every state you can designate anyone you want to make medical decisions.  This may be a provision on HIPAA, but I would need to go double-check.
That being said, it IS something many straight people forget, and “hospital visitation” is a a good reminder to fence-sitters of the things they take for granted in their heterosexual relationships.

That was a major problemOne of our representatives in Illinois was with his partner as he was in the hospital. He had legal rights to visit and make decisions, but the hospital kicked him out and made him go get the paperwork. His partner died during that time.  

More Impressed by the Speed & Lack of Organized ResistanceAlthough I am sure there has been a tremendous amount of groudwork to get to this point, I am most amazed by the relative ease of this final passage of the bill. When you consider the near civil war in Vermont when Civil Unions were being debated, not to mention the anti-DP attack in Washington last year, it is clear we have moved the goalposts very significantly. Civil Unions and DPs are still separate-but-equal and don’t provide the same measure of protection, but to have them be very quickly noncontroversial shows how strongly the message has gotten through.
Now the question is, does IL have a referendum proecess, and will we have to fight to maintain this?

To answer your questionThis was not a fast thing.  It’s been years in the making.  The bill has languished in committee for more than a few years.  The stars (and politics) just lined up this time.  The votes were there in both the House and Senate and Gov. Quinn has promised to sign it.  Given the way Springfield politics works, it’s not a done deal until it is signed by the governor (but he probably will sign it).
Putting a referendum on the ballot that pertains to people’s civil rights is illegal in Illinois.  I would assume Civil Unions would be covered under this prohibition.  The bar for referenda is very high in this state.  
A couple of years ago, LaBarbera, et. al. attempted to put a referendum on the ballot that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.  They failed miserably at this attempt, due to their failure to gather enough legal signatures – there were a lot of fraudulent ones.  Even then, it would have been advisory only, not binding.
Having said all that, I am proud of my state.  It was the first in the U.S. to abolish its sodomy statute in 1961, and now this.

Illinois Family Institute is sad

“We are very disappointed that the Illinois General Assembly succumbed to emotional manipulation instead of reasoned justifiable evidence regarding the government’s recognition of the public purpose of marriage,” said Illinois Family Institute’s executive director David Smith. “Proponents engaged in embarrassing and maudlin displays of sentimentality intended to emotionally manipulate rather than intellectually persuade their colleagues.”

There are two major reasons to oppose the fight for civil unions when it’s counterpoised to the fight for same sex marriage.Reason 1. Civil unions and civil partnerships are crumbs given to second class citizens to keep them quiet.
Reason 2. Most damning of all, Obama is one of the right wing religious leaders who’s all for imposing the second class status of civil unions on our communities. So are Hillary Clinton and most Democrat politicians. Their absolute refusal to even consider repealing opposition to full citizenship confirms that they’re bigots.
The fact that Republican right wing leaders, the same ones who’d be only too happy to fire up the ovens, doesn’t make this a victory.
Question 1 – How many of the 1200 or so right taken away by Clintons DOMA will be granted by the Illinois law?
Question 2 – Has the date been set to launch a massive campaign for full citizenship, aka, marriage equality? Are the funds and volunteer organizers in place? Have offices been rented?    

Go IMMEDIATELY to Illinois and MAKE IT HAPPENSeriously donal1944, there are few things more obnoxious than pissing on a victory when you didn’t lift a finger to make it or the alternative you pine for happen.  When you’ve been working your butt off for marriage equality in Illinois, then come and tell us what a pile of sh*t these civil unions are.

AMEN!A lot of people worked their butts off and laid it out on the line to get this passed.  
Yes, it’s not the best choice, but it’s still better than nothing.
Sometimes progress comes in incremental steps – Vermont might be a good example to look at.

You know, people like you piss me off…

Reason 1. Civil unions and civil partnerships are crumbs given to second class citizens to keep them quiet.

We aren’t being quiet about being handed to crumbs, but this “marriage or nothing” thing is ridiculous.  You’d have the folks in Washington State, California up until 2008, Connecticut from 2005 to 2008, and New Hampshire from 2008 until 2010, left with no protections at all.
I don’t need you to remind me that I’m not married.

Reason 2. Most damning of all, Obama is one of the right wing religious leaders who’s all for imposing the second class status of civil unions on our communities. So are Hillary Clinton and most Democrat politicians. Their absolute refusal to even consider repealing opposition to full citizenship confirms that they’re bigots.

You won’t hear disagreement from me that I know the beltway Democratic establishment are bigots.

The fact that Republican right wing leaders, the same ones who’d be only too happy to fire up the ovens, doesn’t make this a victory.

Making this a partisan issue again?

Question 1 – How many of the 1200 or so right taken away by Clintons DOMA will be granted by the Illinois law?

None whatsoever, because even if we got the brass ring that is marriage, DOMA would still apply until it’s overturned in the DC Circuit or by SCOTUS.  So please, contribute financially to GLAD, the folks who are actually challenging DOMA.

Question 2 – Has the date been set to launch a massive campaign for full citizenship, aka, marriage equality? Are the funds and volunteer organizers in place? Have offices been rented?

Uh, they already exist.  Where have you been the last few years?  There were marriage bills and civil unions bills introduced in the last few years in the Illinois General Assembly.
Do you really think Equality Illinois is just gonna stop with Civil Unions?  I mean, gee, statewide LGBT equality groups just stop working at it as soon as their done, right?  ERW isn’t going for marriage equality at all, neither is BRO in Oregon, etc, neither did Love Makes a Family in Connecticut.
Stop whining and start working.

Answers1) None, but even if we had marriage, we wouldn’t have those rights.
2) The plan has been in motion for just that. Those working all these years for this have a plan. There are great minds at work on this, some of which I have been lucky enough to meet and work with. They will not stop until Illinois and the United States has full marriage equality.
Two reasons for me, an Illinois Resident to be excited about this?
Reason 1: I will count as next of kin to my partner of two years, with all the benefits that come with that.
Reason 2: My elderly mother and her boyfriend of ten years can get a civil union to enjoy those benefits, and they won’t have to worry about losing half of their income from Social Security. Civil Unions have their own benefits, and they don’t all just apply to GLBTs.  

Seriously Lurleen, fighting for and getting second class citizenship is not a victory’ Pretending that it is what’s really obnoxious.Now that you’ve vented please answer my questions:
Question 1 – How many of the 1200 or so right taken away by Clintons DOMA will be granted by the Illinois law?
Question 2 – Has the date been set to launch a massive campaign for full citizenship, aka, marriage equality? Are the funds and volunteer organizers in place? Have offices been rented?    
And here’s a new one;
Question 3 – How has incrementalism helped us defeat Clinton’s DADT and DOMA and how has it lead the Democrats to fight for ENDA?
Democrat front groups like HRC and EQCA have fought for incremental change for decades and won precious little. In fact state supreme courts, acting under pressure from our movement and embarrassed by the unconstitutionally of state and federal DOMA’s have done more than all the incrementalists accomplished in decades to further same sex marriage.  
If our struggles are played out according to the limits set by Obama, the Clintons and other Democrat party bigots, i.e. civil unions, then we lose.
That’s the real question you should try to grapple with Lurleen.  They oppose same sex marriage but will go along with the second class status of civil unions and partnerships. Why on earth should we allow them to place limits on what we fight for?  

“You know, people like you piss me off…” Too bad. People who allow bigots like Obama to set the parameters of what we can and cannot fight for piss me off.
Stop doing only what the Democrats allow you to do and start fighting for first class citizenship.  

Oops.The fact that Republican right wing leaders, the same ones who’d be only too happy to fire up the ovens, don’t like civil unions doesn’t make this a victory.

I’m glad you and your partner are ‘next of kin. That’s a limited but welcome step. I think you’re probably wrong about your Mom.
SS comes from the feds and since SSA and Medicare laws are written by bigots in Congress and signed by bigots like Clinton, the Bushes and Obama, I’m not sure that federal laws take much notice of contrary state laws.
Maybe a lawyer knows the answer.  
I hope the fight for same sex marriage gets started quickly because civil unions pray. They’re so straight.  

Go IMMEDIATELY to Illinois and MAKE IT HAPPEN . “when you didn’t lift a finger to make it or the alternative you pine for happen…”  
I would never lift a finger for second class citizenship. And because I’m disabled I didn’t make it to California to try to take the leadership away from the Democrat party sellouts in No on 8.
How ‘obnoxious’ of me to think that I still have free speech rights, including the right to criticize the No on 8 sellouts in California and second class citizenship advocates in Illinois.
I don’t ‘pine’ for marriage because I think it backward and used to oppress women and children. I ‘pine’ for equality, unlike Democrat party politicians.  

Class, what time is it?That’s right. It’s SPAM time!
Every day starting around midnight the Asshat Spammers come out to append these moronic posts to various threads.

A clarificationThe only amendments to the constitution that can be initiated by referendum are for structural or procedural matters.  Any other referendum is advisory only.
And the Peter’s anti-marriage referendum failed because too many signatures were bogus.  His little hate group, the IFI, tried again a couple of years later and gave up — they couldn’t get enough signatures, period.
Wingnuts don’t really get a lot of traction here.

Oh, he’ll ride his misery to the bank.And you know darn well that this will be used as both a fundraiser and a scare tactic in future elections. But we’re rapidly tipping toward the yawn point – Illinois isn’t really a place where you can whip the homophobia into too good a moneymaker – and civil unions will just be one more “what was it we were worried about” issue.
That’s not in ANY way to minimize the awesome and tireless efforts of the people who got us this far, nor how much tougher it is in other areas of the country.
As great as it is, as with California, there’s an element of “If it’s this hard to get this passed here, holy cow how much work there is in other places!

As to the resistance….I think this may be one of the anecdotal evidence points that most of the organized resistance comes when groups like NOM spend big bucks, not because there is a natural groundswell of resistance out there. At least here.
The Big Hate groups had other fish to fry, and frankly, they’ve put so much energy into “we aren’t against the rights, just protecting marriage” that they look like idiots when they do the U-turn into “yes, but giving them any rights is just the same as letting them get married.” They didn’t take their scare tactics to the public, so the public didn’t get scared.
Left to their own devices, the natural resistance basically takes the form of generic grumbling and “not in my church” sorts of things. But it did take quite a few election cycles to convince the moderates that supporting gay rights wasn’t toxic to their careers.
And yes, this wasn’t anything like fast. It’s been worked on for (nearly? over?) a decade.

Oh, good God.Sure, equality is equality, and the only workable end goal is marriage.
But the single biggest tool the opposition has in their arsenal is the uncertainty and fear about what will happen to society (and the children!!!) when this totally new and completely strange and never before been tried thing gets imposes. The idea that nobody has ever done anything like this and that the consequences are so unknowable that it isn’t worth risking.
In the face of that, baby steps really are the only weapon. Marriage equality states like Massachusetts and Iowa that don’t collapse can be pointed to. But I can say from personal experience that one of the big things that cinched support from our neighbors is seeing that our relationship isn’t any different from theirs – my straight male neighbor has started asking for relationship and parenting advice!
Civil unions suck compared to full marriage equality, but they also serve an important purpose. The waffly people look at “not quite marriage” and deal with us as neighbors, fellow PTA members, coworkers, and so on, and their process shifts from “who knows what could happen” to “hey, that’s not really fair.”
And in the meantime, our families get things like insurance, next-of-kin status, and other “crumbs.”
The big lawsuits heading to the Supreme Court are all variations on “We’re only giving them some of the benefits we give other citizens, and they really are living lives that are indistinguishable in any legal sense from straight people.”
Because those “crumbs” were put in place.
No, I don’t like being a stepping stone. But it is a hell of a lot better participating in the progress than standing on the shore throwing rocks at the people who are doing the work.

Oddly appropriate, though.Do they sell a cleanse that will wash the crap out of our politicians?

Brother Ricky Hendon brought some CHURCHup in the Senate chamber yesterday.
And…yes, this is the same brother Ricky Hendon that was ready to throw down with a certain state Senator representing Hyde Park back in the day.

There is no gawd. I think civil unions and civil or domestic partnerships are the crumbs that bigots like the Clintons and Obama will grant us. All of those forms, if segregated from marriage, constitute second class citizenship.
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.” Desmond Tutu
The question will never be solved until Clinton’s DOMA is repealed or shot down by the Supremes. DOMA will never be repealed by Lymis’ Democrats or their Republican cousins.
Lymis says “Civil unions suck…”. The proper pejorative phraseology is expressed as “Civil unions pray…”
Ten years ago civil unions or domestic partnerships may have been “baby steps”. Now they’re a big step backward organized by Democrats to keep us in a second class status so that Obama and other Democrats can continue to appease their bigoted christian voters and not be branded as supporters of same sex marriage.
People aren’t fooled anymore by Democrats. The thirty million Obama supporters who stayed home last election day are proof positive.

Well…As with anti-discrimination legislation, there are simply some states where it will NEVER happen via state-level legislation.
I’m sure some people will respond by pointing to Iowa and Colorado.
I think the only people shocked by Iowa having a T-inclusive civil rights law and, later, same-sex marriage are people who don’t know Iowa’s history.  Yes, it has spawned Steve King and has, at times, had reactionaries in control of government.  But those are actually aberrations, not the norm.
I have less personal familiarity with Colorado’s longer historical arc, but just an election cycle or two changes the state from a far-right dominion to one with a  T-inclusive civil rights law.
But Alabama?  Mississippi?  When it comes to civil rights, the ‘D’ and ‘R’ labels are just window dressing; the states still feel as though the Civil War is in progress – and that the years since 1865 have just been a long halftime show.  

Tell em, KatRoseThe many pockets of progressivism in the Midwest are as progressive as anywhere else in the country including the coasts.
Illinois has a comprhensive T-inclusive non-discrimination law as well.
Massachusetts and New York don’t have that.

Illinois isn’t really a place where you can whip the homophobia into too good a moneymaker

Lymis, this is very, very true.

That’s how we did it in Vermont /nt

I’m not wrong about my momAnd my partner is a lawyer. Full marriage is required for her to lose her pension from my father. A civil union will not interfere with it, but it will allow kin status, and all that comes with that.
Illinois Civil Unions will stay like this after same sex marriage is allowed, for any couple who wants it. I personally know many straight couples who will take advantage of it.  

Say AMEN !This is some good stuff. Hollywood was bringing it for sure. Thank you for sharing that clip.