The Midwest state becomes the 16th in the country to allow same-sex marriage
By Noah Rayman
Article Reprint
Illinois became the sixteenth state in the union to legalize gay marriage after the House and Senate passed a bill that was quickly signed by Governor Pat Quinn Tuesday evening.
After two-and-a-half hours of debate, the bill only narrowly passed the House Tuesday with 61 votes, one more than the minimum, the Chicago Tribunereports. The Senate, which previously approved a slightly different version of the bill, later approved the revised version 32-21.
“Tonight, I applaud the men and women of the Illinois General Assembly, a body in which I was proud to serve, for voting to legalize marriage equality in my home state,” President Barack Obama said in an emailed statement on the bill’s passage Tuesday evening.
Read more: Illinois Approves Gay Marriage | TIME.com http://nation.time.com/2013/11/05/illinois-house-approves-gay-marriage/#ixzz2jp0JwG3iicle Reprint