Volunteers seek to stop anti-gay referendum
Volunteers seek to stop anti-gay referendum
By Gary Barlow
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Almost 60 volunteers turned out in Chicago May 13 to begin working against a right-wing effort to put an anti-gay marriage referendum on the Illinois election ballot this November.
“I was just amazed that this many people showed up on the first Saturday morning to do this,” Equality Illinois’ Rick Garcia said of the response.
Working at the county elections office at 69 W. Washington, the volunteers began scrutinizing the more than 345,000 petition signatures aimed at putting the referendum on the ballot. Each signature is to be checked to make sure it belongs to a registered voter and that the address information corresponds with voter registration records. Petitions are also checked for other errors.
The petitions were submitted to the State Board of Elections May 8 by Protect Marriage Illinois, a group run by the anti-gay Illinois Family Institute. At least 283,111 of the signatures must be valid for the referendum to go forward. The Board of Elections is conducting a preliminary check and could rule that enough petitions are invalid to disqualify the referendum.
If that doesn’t happen, Equality Illinois, the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and other groups opposed to the referendum are banking on the volunteer effort they’ve organized under the Fair Illinois Committee banner to go through the petitions signature by signature and find enough errors to keep the referendum off the ballot.
“It’s quite a process,” said Allie Carter, who’s helping to run the Fair Illinois volunteer effort.
Carter and Garcia said volunteers have been calling up from the city, suburbs and Downstate, asking what they can do to help. Fair Illinois expects to begin having volunteers work by May 20 at a headquarters it’s setting up at 3342 N. Halsted St., across the street from Sidetrack.
“If you’re on Halsted Street and you have an hour, just come in,” Garcia said.
Fair Illinois also expects to need volunteers in other areas, particularly DuPage County, where the anti-gay group is thought to have gathered a significant number of signatures.
If it makes the ballot and passes, the referendum would not be binding but would urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass an amendment to the Illinois Constitution banning gays and lesbians from getting married. It could also outlaw other forms of recognition for gay and lesbian families, including domestic partner benefits granted by private companies and local governments.
Right-wing groups have tried and failed for several years to pass such an amendment in the Legislature. All of the state’s constitutional officers, including Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and Ill. Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R), oppose such an amendment.
By Gary Barlow
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Almost 60 volunteers turned out in Chicago May 13 to begin working against a right-wing effort to put an anti-gay marriage referendum on the Illinois election ballot this November.
“I was just amazed that this many people showed up on the first Saturday morning to do this,” Equality Illinois’ Rick Garcia said of the response.
Working at the county elections office at 69 W. Washington, the volunteers began scrutinizing the more than 345,000 petition signatures aimed at putting the referendum on the ballot. Each signature is to be checked to make sure it belongs to a registered voter and that the address information corresponds with voter registration records. Petitions are also checked for other errors.
The petitions were submitted to the State Board of Elections May 8 by Protect Marriage Illinois, a group run by the anti-gay Illinois Family Institute. At least 283,111 of the signatures must be valid for the referendum to go forward. The Board of Elections is conducting a preliminary check and could rule that enough petitions are invalid to disqualify the referendum.
If that doesn’t happen, Equality Illinois, the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and other groups opposed to the referendum are banking on the volunteer effort they’ve organized under the Fair Illinois Committee banner to go through the petitions signature by signature and find enough errors to keep the referendum off the ballot.
“It’s quite a process,” said Allie Carter, who’s helping to run the Fair Illinois volunteer effort.
Carter and Garcia said volunteers have been calling up from the city, suburbs and Downstate, asking what they can do to help. Fair Illinois expects to begin having volunteers work by May 20 at a headquarters it’s setting up at 3342 N. Halsted St., across the street from Sidetrack.
“If you’re on Halsted Street and you have an hour, just come in,” Garcia said.
Fair Illinois also expects to need volunteers in other areas, particularly DuPage County, where the anti-gay group is thought to have gathered a significant number of signatures.
If it makes the ballot and passes, the referendum would not be binding but would urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass an amendment to the Illinois Constitution banning gays and lesbians from getting married. It could also outlaw other forms of recognition for gay and lesbian families, including domestic partner benefits granted by private companies and local governments.
Right-wing groups have tried and failed for several years to pass such an amendment in the Legislature. All of the state’s constitutional officers, including Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and Ill. Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R), oppose such an amendment.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 3:55 PM
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