CIVIL UNION BILL UPDATE
Please Take Action!
On February 17, 2009, Rep. Greg Harris introduced HB2234, the Illinois Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act. This bill replaces HB1826, which (along with other legislation) got caught in the political gridlock in Springfield at the end of the last legislative session.
On Thursday, March 5, 2009, HB2234 passed the Youth and Family Committee by a vote of 4-3. The bill is on its third reading in the Illinois House of Representatives, and could be called for a vote at anytime prior to the end of the session.
House Bill 2234 helps establish basic fairness for couples who can not have a civil marriage. Couples in a civil union would have the right to hospital visitation, healthcare decision-making, survivor benefits, shared nursing home living, and authority to make funeral arrangments.
Your State Representative needs to hear from you that you support this important legislation. People who oppose fairness and oppose civil unions are calling Springfield, so we must do the same.
Please take action today:
Complete this action alert to contact your state legislator, and urge him or her to vote 'yes' on the Civil Union bill.
Please also take a moment to thank the sponsors of the Civil Union bill. As legislators willing to stand for fairness and equality in Illinois, they need to be told that their support is appreciated by voters like you. For the sponsors' contact information, please follow the link below.
For information about the Civil Union bill, go to: HB2234
Tell me more
Talking Points
HB2234 provides recognition and guarantees some of the rights and responsibilities to persons in
civil unions that are currently granted to persons in civil marriages.
The legislation allows committed opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples and senior couples, many of whom have been in a committed relationship for decades:
-
to participate in medical decision making;
-
to visit a loved one in the hospital and to share a nursing home room;
-
to continue to receive pension benefits of a deceased partner from a previous marriage;
-
to control the disposition of a deceased partner's remains.
This bill specifically affirms that no religious institution or denomination can ever be forced to solemnize these unions.
We have come far, but we still have a long way to go before all Illinois families are treated fairly and equitably. You have the power to help make equality a reality in Illinois.
