Stalled

Well, the Illinois House has once again proven its inability to make a decision -- SB10, the "Religious Freedom and Equal Marriage Act," did not come up for a vote yesterday, the last day of the legislative session. From the Chicago Sun-Times, quoting Rep. Greg Harris, the chief House sponsor:

“As chief sponsor of this legislation, decisions surrounding the legislation are mine and mine alone. Several of my colleagues have indicated they’d not be willing to cast a vote on this bill today, Harris told a crowded House chamber.

“And I’ve never been sadder to accept this request, but I have to keep my eye, as we all must, on the ultimate prize. They’ve asked for time to go back to their districts, talk to their constituents and reach out to their minds and hearts and have told me they’ll return in November with their word that they’re prepared to support this legislation.

“And I take my colleagues at their word they shall.”

The Sun-Times credits the Black Caucus with the failure to bring the bill to a vote:

Stubborn resistance within the House Black Caucus, a 20-member bloc of African-American lawmakers who have faced a withering lobbying blitz against the plan from black ministers, has helped keep Harris’ legislation in check, with several House members still undecided.

Several in the caucus had urged Harris to push the issue into the fall veto session.

“The sense I have is blacks are tired of being lobbied or targeted. They’ve kind of turned back on some of the advocates and lobbyists and are asking, ‘Why don’t you get some Republicans?’” one high-level Democratic insider said Friday.

Two comments on this: I wonder how these Africa-American representatives feel about being successfully manipulated by NOM and its allies. And if Harris, et al., start pulling in Republican votes on this or any other issue, where is their clout?

Much has been made in the blogosphere about President Obama's support for the bill, which should have done a lot to sway opinion in the black community. What you don't hear is that his support was voiced at a private fundraiser, no reporters or cameras allowed. Publicly -- (crickets).

The response from the usual suspects has been no more than we would expect.

From Brian Brown of the badly misnamed National Organization for Marriage:

"So much for the inevitability of gay marriage. With a coalition that included strong support from the African American community as well as so many others throughout the state, we did what nobody in the intelligentsia thought was possible. This is a huge victory at a pivotal time, and totally undercuts the lie that somehow same-sex marriage is inevitable. Our thanks go out to champions such as the African American Clergy Coalition; Rev. James Meeks and Bishop Lance Davis; the Illinois Conference of Catholic Bishops and their director Bob Gilligan; the Illinois Family Institute and their director David Smith; the Illinois Family PAC and their director, Paul Caprio; and the Coalition of African American Pastors and their chairman, Rev. Bill Owens. Everyone pitched in everything they had to stop this ill-conceived legislation. We at NOM are honored to have been part of the coalition effort. And those Republicans who betrayed principle will soon learn that their political careers are headed for the same dustbin that met former GOP Chair Pat Brady when he betrayed the cause of marriage."

And from the Peter:

It's remarkable how these guys try to snatch victory from the jaws of nothing. Just a reminder: You can't really say a bill has been defeated until there's a vote.

On the other hand, a more accurate assessment comes from our Governor, Pat Quinn:

Gov. Pat Quinn issued a statement saying he was disappointed.

“This is not over,” he said. “The fight goes on. We will keep on fighting until marriage equality is law in Illinois.”

The bill will be back. It will be back this fall. Count on it.