Wed. September 18, 2013
Chicago, IL -
Illinois Unites for Marriage—the coalition pushing the state's same-sex marriage bill—produced and released a video to highlight why waiting for marriage equality in Illinois is no longer an option.
Since being diagnosed with terminal stage 3 Melanoma in Nov. 2012, Steven Rynes and his partner Robert Smith, who live in Chicago, were waiting for the day when they could finally marry in their home state of Illinois. They were waiting together in the hospital as Rynes' health quickly declined. And they were still waiting on Sept. 10, 2013, when Steven Rynes passed away at age 32.
Rynes and Smith joined together in a civil union in January, but their inability to marry in Illinois compounded the couple's anguish, denying them more than a thousand federal protections available to married couples in the wake of the Supreme Court's June ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
"People are dying without being equal," said Smith. "I don't understand it, and Steve never did understand it. And he never will."
The couple's emotional and heartbreaking story communicates a clear message - "Marriage can't wait."
The video concludes with the message "Marriage can't wait. For Steven Rynes, it's too late."
The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act cleared the Illinois Senate on February 14, but stalled in the House on May 31. Lawmakers are expected to reconsider the measure when they return to Springfield in November.
On the web: IllinoisUnites.org
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