MARRIAGE NEWS WATCH

Illinois Marriages Could be Coming Sooner than we Thought

Well, that was quite a week, wasn’t it? In the span of just a few days, we pretty much locked in both Illinois and Hawaii. There are still a few little procedural steps (signatures, votes, etc) before everything’s all squared away, but it’s looking increasingly likely that we can put a check-mark on both states, in ink.

The only thing that could derail Hawaii is a threatened lawsuit. According to some opponents, the legislature isn’t actually allowed to enact marriage equality — only to ban it. This sounds kind of far-fetched — did nobody think to check on this before calling a special session and voting on the bill? — but we’ll have to keep an eye on that situation just in case.

Meanwhile, Illinois might find a way to push up the start date of marriage. Currently, the start date is set for June 2014. That’s a long wait — much longer than most other states. One legislator has proposed an amendment that would get things underway in February, so don’t wait to start picking out floral arrangements.

And just as we do every week, we have more new surveys showing support for marriage is growing. But these data come from some less-than liberal states. It’s a pleasant reminder that while the work for equality isn’t over, progress is happening all over the country.

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