Gays and lesbians protest outside Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral
Sun. February 13, 2011 11:47 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Chicago, IL -
Gays and lesbians gathered outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on the day before Valentine's Day to protest the Catholic Church's stance on gay marriage.
The Chicago Tribune reported that this is the second time activists have marked "Freedom to Marry Day."
"If we're going to win marriage equality within this state, we'll have to be out in the streets like we are today," Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, told the Tribune.
Civil unions will become legal in Illinois this summer, but they do not grant the same rights that straight couples have in marriage.
Cardinal Francis George, leader of the Chicago Archdiocese, is opposed to civil unions.
"There is a real difference between the sexual relationships of two men or two women and the sexual relationships based on the complementarity of man and woman who assure the future of … family," George told the Tribune in a recent interview. "Quite apart from the morality of it, it's apples and oranges. It's not the same. Somehow the law should respect that difference."
The Chicago Tribune reported that this is the second time activists have marked "Freedom to Marry Day."
"If we're going to win marriage equality within this state, we'll have to be out in the streets like we are today," Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, told the Tribune.
Civil unions will become legal in Illinois this summer, but they do not grant the same rights that straight couples have in marriage.
Cardinal Francis George, leader of the Chicago Archdiocese, is opposed to civil unions.
"There is a real difference between the sexual relationships of two men or two women and the sexual relationships based on the complementarity of man and woman who assure the future of … family," George told the Tribune in a recent interview. "Quite apart from the morality of it, it's apples and oranges. It's not the same. Somehow the law should respect that difference."