You have to say this much for Bill Clinton: when he changes his tune, he goes whole hog. The man who signed DOMA into law is now calling upon the Illinois state legislature to pass a marriage equality bill.
“Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ – deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community,” Clinton said in a statement. “That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in Illinois, with marriage equality.”
Illinois is poised to be the fourth state this spring to approve marriage equality. “The votes are, indeed, there,” Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, told ChicagoPride.com. “And I believe the bill is going to pass, but we’ve received no indication yet on when the bill would be called.” Gov. Pat Quinn has said that the passage of marriage equality is one of his top two priorities for the legislature. The clock for passage is ticking: the legislature adjourns on May 31.
