Illinois is seen as one of the most progressive states in the United States in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights and often regarded as one of the most liberal states in the Midwestern United States. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1962, after Illinois became the first U.S. state to repeal its sodomy laws. Same-sex marriage was banned by statute since 1996, but has since been legalized in November 2013, after a law allowing such marriages was signed by then-Governor Pat Quinn on November 20 and went into effect on June 1, 2014. Civil unions also have been legal statewide since 2011 and same-sex couples are also allowed to adopt children. Additionally, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is banned in the state. Since 2016, conversion therapy on minors has also been forbidden.
Chicago has a vibrant LGBT community. The first pride parade took place in 1970, a year after the Stonewall riots. In 2017, the Chicago Pride Parade attracted about 1 million attendees.
Video LGBT rights in Illinois
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
On July 28, 1961, Illinois enacted the Laws of Illinois 1961, a new state law code, that became effective on January 1, 1962, and eliminated the state's sodomy laws. It was the first state to eliminate its sodomy laws and established an age of consent of 18. Notably, sodomy was not legalized, but actually de-facto decriminalized because the laws against the "infamous crime against nature either with man or beast" were not included in the Criminal Code of 1961. However, the code also made it a crime to commit a "lewd fondling or caress of the body of another person of the same sex" in a public place. In 1963, the Legislature passed a new law that changed the words "the same sex" to "either sex." In 1984, the "lewd fondling or caress" law was repealed and the age of consent was lowered to 16. On 1 January 2012, the age of consent was raised again in Illinois to 17.
Maps LGBT rights in Illinois
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Marriage
- SB 1773
SB 1773, introduced by Representative Tom Johnson in 1996, amended the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to preclude out-of-state recognition of same-sex marriage and reinforce the state's marriage ban in light of Baehr v. Lewin in Hawaii. It was vigorously opposed, with 12,000 letters being written by clergymen, parishioners and other citizens of all faiths. Representatives Ronen, Schakowsky and Currie led the futile effort to defeat the bill, with Rep. Ronen stating at one point, "...don't delude yourself, to think that you are doing God's work. I would remind you that a long list of clergy and religious groups have forcefully spoken out against this Bill." The bill passed 42-9 in the Senate and 87-13 (6 abstain) in the House. The bill was signed in May 1996.
- SB 10 (Marriage)
Same-sex marriage was legalized via statute in November 2013, after the Illinois House of Representatives narrowly approved same-sex marriage legislation by 61 votes to 54 (achieving the 60 vote required threshold). The Illinois Senate subsequently approved the legislation 32-21 (achieving the 30 vote required threshold). The bill was signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on November 20, and it went into effect June 1, 2014.
Civil unions
On January 31, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation that recognizes same-sex civil unions performed on or after June 1, 2011. The Civil Union Act allows the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of Illinois as the equivalent of an Illinois civil union. If a person undergoes sex reassignment surgery, the marriage is still recognized by the state, even though the parties to the marriage are of the same sex.
Illinois has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 2006.
In 2012, legislation to repeal the state's recognition of same-sex civil unions was introduced in the House of Representatives, but was not considered by the House.
Lawsuits
In May 2012, both Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union filed lawsuits in state court challenging the refusal of the Cook County clerk's office to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Both contend that the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act violates the Illinois Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process. These lawsuits have since been abandoned due to the State Legislature passing a same-sex marriage law in November 2013.
On February 21, 2014, a federal judge authorized Cook County to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples without waiting for the Illinois statute legalizing same-sex marriage to take effect on June 1, and the county clerk began issuing licenses immediately.
Discrimination protections and anti-bullying laws
Since June 1, 2006, Illinois has protected LGBT persons from discrimination. The state's anti-discrimination law includes "sexual orientation", and also bans discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations or credit on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, marital status and military status. The definition of "sexual orientation" explicitly includes "gender identity". The Illinois Human Rights Act states: "'Sexual orientation' means actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or gender-related identity, whether or not traditionally associated with the person's designated sex at birth. 'Sexual orientation' does not include a physical or sexual attraction to a minor by an adult."
The city of Chicago enacted an anti-discrimination law in 1988.
In 2014, Illinois expanded its anti-bullying laws to make them inclusive of LGBT people. Illinois law prohibits bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
Adoption and parenting
The state permits adoption by gay individuals or partners, including second-parent adoptions The Illinois Domestic Violence Act, which protects people who share or used to share a dwelling or a "dating relationship" with their abusers, is written in gender-neutral language and is applicable to same-sex partners.
Hate crime laws
Since 1991, Illinois has had hate crimes legislation on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation only. The law does explicitly protect attacks based on gender identity as such, but gender identity cases can be prosecuted as perceived sexual orientation cases since the state criminalizes attacks based on one's actual or perceived sexual orientation.
On April 16, 2015 and on May 20, 2015, the House and the Senate of the Illinois Legislature, respectively, passed HB 3930 unanimously to add and include "gender identity" into the Illinois hate crimes statutes. On July 20, 2015, the bill was signed by Governor Bruce Rauner and became effective on January 1, 2016.
Gay panic defense
In June 2017, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed SB1761 to repeal the gay and trans panic defense. Governor Bruce Rauner signed the bill on August 25, 2017. The law went into effect on January 1, 2018.
Gender identity or expression rights
In the past, Illinois law permitted reassignment on birth certificates, but a major obstacle prevented some from being able to.
Any person could legally change their gender, but in order to legally change it, the state required transgender people to have "an operation(s) having the effect of reflecting, enhancing, changing, reassigning or otherwise affecting gender. Genital reconstructive surgery was not required to obtain a change in the sex designation on an existing Illinois birth certificate." This was interpreted to at least include sex reassignment surgery, facial laser hair removal, facial electrolysis, and chest surgery. This was an obstacle because some couldn't afford the required medical treatment and some do not feel surgery is needed for their personal gender journey, but still desire to legally transition.
On May 31, 2017, HB1785 passed the Illinois Legislature (House vote 63-43 and Senate vote 32-22) to abolish the sex reassignment surgery requirement, before gender markers can be changed on Illinois drivers licences, birth certificates and other Illinois government forms. Governor Bruce Rauner signed the bill on August 25, 2017. The law went into effect on January 1, 2018.
Respect of pronouns for burial instructions
On August 20, 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner signed HB 3552 which allows a person to specify their gender identity and preferred gender pronouns in binding funeral and burial instructions. The law became effective on January 1, 2016.
HB 3552 was passed 79-34 in the Illinois House on April 14, 2015 and the Illinois Senate in a unanimous 49-0 vote on May 26, 2015.
Conversion therapy
On April 10, 2014, a bill that would have banned sexual orientation change efforts (conversion therapy) failed in the Illinois House of Representatives with a 44-51 vote and 22 members not voting.
The bill was reintroduced in the 2015 legislative session as HB 217, the Youth Mental Health Protection Act. On May 19, 2015, the state House passed the ban in a 68-43 vote and on May 29, the Senate passed it in a 34-19 vote.
On August 20, 2015, Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner signed it into law. It prohibits mental health providers from attempting to practice conversion therapy on minors under 18. The law became effective on January 1, 2016, making Illinois the fifth jurisdiction in the United States to ban conversion therapy.
In August 2016, a group of Illinois pastors sued the Illinois Government, arguing that the state's conversion therapy ban is unconstitutional because it "interferes with religious freedom". On February 15, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit as nonjusticiable, ruling that pastors are not subject to the Illinois conversion therapy ban because private religious counseling is not "trade or commerce."
Public opinion
A February 2013 Crain's/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Illinois residents favored the same-sex marriage bill under consideration by the Legislature, while 29% opposed it. The survey also found that feelings were stronger among those favoring legalization. A majority of Illinois residents supported civil unions, health benefits for partners, and protections from hate crimes and discrimination.
An October 2013 poll commissioned by Equality Illinois showed that 52% of the state favored same-sex marriage, while 40% were opposed. 8% were undecided on the issue.
According to a poll, conducted between February 28 and March 10, 2015 by Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute of Illinois, 54.9% of registered voters supported same-sex marriage, 20% favored civil unions, 6.7% of voters were unsure, and only 18.4% opposed both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples, meaning 74.9% support legal recognition of some kind. This was based on a survey of 1,000 registered voters in Illinois and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The poll was taken approximately 15 months after the same-sex marriage bill was signed by then-Governor Quinn, nine months after marriage was legal for same-sex couples (statewide), and four months before the Supreme Court nationalized marriage for same-sex couples under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 65% of Illinois residents supported same-sex marriage, while 25% were opposed and 10% were unsure.
See also
- Law of Illinois
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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