Two lawsuits filed Wednesday are part of efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois.
They're filed on behalf of 25 gay and lesbian couples who were denied when they tried to apply for marriage licenses in Cook County. The lawsuit names Cook County clerk David Orr, who actually supports gay marriage. He says it's past time for Illinois to allow county clerks to issue marriage licenses to couples who want to make a commitment. The lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Lambda Legal challenge Illinois' marriage law on a constitutional basis. Attorneys say they should be able to marry under due process and equality clauses in the Illinois constitution.
One of the plaintiffs, Kevin Bowersox-Johnson, says it's not always the most dramatic scenarios that weigh heavy on same-sex couples. He and his partner live in Urbana. They have a young son named Garrett who had to be taken to the hospital for possible pneumonia. The nurse insisted on speaking to the child's mother: "And so I politely said, 'Garrett is fortunate enough to have two dads, we're a gay couple, and he is adopted by both of us. Her final response was, 'So you're not going to let me talk to the mother?'"
While Bowersox-Johnson was able to get a civil union, he says it's not always something well understood. He says He is constantly having to explain what a civil union is to health care providers, to schools, and to the community at large.
Opponents of gay marriage say the argument attorneys are making that same-sex couples are constitutionally entitled to marriage will not hold up in court.
