Illinois Senate Expected to Vote Today on Gay Marriage Recognition

Valentine's Day may get sweeter for some

For Illinois's same-sex couples wishing to wed, the Valentine's Day candy should be extra sweet. The state senate is expected to vote on a same-sex marriage bill today. "This is an exciting time to be a gay-rights lawyer," Camilla Taylor, counsel for Lamdba Legal, told me.

Taylor has good reason to be excited. With a Democratic supermajority, just about everyone expects the chamber will pass the measure. Then the bill will go to the House, where the leadership is also supportive.

The news is part of a larger trend. Many expect the number of states recognizing same-sex marriage to grow significantly this year; activists have their sights set on five different states—Illinois, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, and Hawaii. All have supportive governors and Democratic majorities in the legislature. In New Jersey, where Republican governor Chris Christie vetoed a marriage-equality bill last year, people are working to build enough support to overturn his decision. Nine states already allow same-sex marriage and Taylor, who helped draft the Illinois measure, says she and friends from Rhode Island have a happy competition about which state will be number ten. In the other states, the measures will probably come to votes later in the year.