State Rep. Deborah Mell will make one of the biggest announcements of her life on the House floor today.
She plans to tell her colleagues she will marry her same-sex partner, Christin Baker, and how it's unfair for gay couples in Illinois to have wed somewhere else.
"You can't legislate who you love and can't punish people for it," Mell said on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. "We are a regular couple, play taxes, own a home, have a great belief in God."
Do you think Illinois should adopt same-sex marriage laws?
"I [definitely] think that gay marriage should be legal! I am a gay man who has been with my partner for almost 9 years. We are adopting a baby that is due in a month and a half! Luckily we live in a state where gay couples can adopt as "co-parents" Why can't we all realize that LOVE is LOVE it does not matter if it is between two men, two women, or a man and a woman! " - Erik
"If Happiness is what our goal is, why stop here? Why not allow humans to marry animals, plants, or even objects? Come on... marriage is between a MAN & WOMAN period !" - Anonymous
"BY THE POWER VESTED IN ME BY THE STATE OF ILLINOIS..." These seem to be the words that far too many people miss in this debate. Marriage is a civil institution as well as a religious ceremony. We must understand the difference between the two. As a lesbian I do not expect a religious institution to be forced to marry me. However, that religious institution should not prevent me as a lesbian from having the right to civil marriage and the 1,000 plus legal rights and responsibilities that come with it." - Crystal
"They should focus on bigger and more important issues down in Springfield." - David
"Lets stop making this world so damn complicated. Whatever, let them get married. Does that make the world a worse place? No." - Randy
"I personally don't think it should be legal but I also believe that in this country---we all have a right to "pursue happiness" and if people want to get married then it should not matter whether it is a man/woman or man/man or woman/woman. I try to have an open mind in our ever-changing world." - Jason
"The sex of a couple should not matter. If gays want to marry or enter upon partnership agreements, the state should recognize these and grant the same rights to gays as the same rights of straight people. It is disgraceful that the civil rights of a minority is being ignored." - Anonymous
"I don't think the legislature has an accurate view of what the general public thinks on same sex marriages. I am a straight woman and single mother, and I think people should be allowed to marry whomever their hearts want. I am appalled that the legislature of this state thinks they know anything about what the people want or believe! I say, make same sex marriages legal once and for all!" - Melissa
"I find it extremely hypocritical of us as heterosexuals to tell the gay community they can't be married when our society has such a high divorce rate. When we respect marriage as much as the gay community does we can tell people what to do with their lives." - Nicole
"Bible says NO and so do I. " - Anonymous
"To the people who believe legal unions between gay couples would destroy this mythical "sanctity of marriage," please explain why so many marriages end in divorce and why infidelity is not a hot topic in today's media. To make gay marriage illegal is to strip away human rights. There is nothing wrong with love and we could use a lot more of it in the world." -Casey
"Absolutely! My partner and I have been together 26 yrs. Why shouldn't we have the same civil benefits/responsibilities that ANY 'hetro' couple can automatically get after a drunken night and quickie wedding in a drive through church in Vegas?" - Anonymous
