Text of IL HJR 95 (2012)

HJ0095LRB097 22073 GRL 70799 r 1HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, Since being admitted into the Union in 1818, The 3State of Illinois has only recognized marriages between one man 4and one woman; and 5 WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution of 1970, based on its 6text, history and interpretation, does not confer any right to 7enter into a same-sex marriage, but only a right to enter into 8an opposite-sex marriage; and 9 WHEREAS, In 1996, the Illinois General Assembly amended the 10Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to make 11explicit what has always been implicit in our marriage laws: 12that marriage is a relationship that may exist only between one 13man and one woman (Section 201), to prohibit same-sex marriages 14(Section 212(a)(5)), and to state that a marriage between 2 15persons of the same sex is "contrary to the public policy of 16this State" (Section 213.1); and 17 WHEREAS, Federal law recognizes and provides the benefits 18of marriage only to those marriages between a man and a woman; 19and 20 WHEREAS, For thousands of years, religious faiths have 21recognized only marriages between one man and one woman; and HJ0095- 2 -LRB097 22073 GRL 70799 r 1 WHEREAS, By popular vote, 30 states have amended their 2constitutions to reserve marriage as a relationship that may 3exist only between a man and a woman and to prohibit 4recognition of same-sex marriages; and 5 WHEREAS, Two lawsuits have been filed in the Circuit Court 6of Cook County challenging, under the Illinois Constitution, 7the prohibition of same-sex marriage in the Illinois Marriage 8and Dissolution of Marriage Act: Darby, et al. vs. David Orr, 9in his official capacity as Cook County Clerk, Circuit Court of 10Cook County, No. 12 CH 19718; and Lazaro, et al. vs. David Orr, 11in his official capacity as Cook County Clerk, Circuit Court of 12Cook County, No. 12 CH 19719; therefore, be it 13 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 14NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 15SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we show our support for the 16Illinois laws reserving the institution of marriage to one man 17and one woman; and be it further 18 RESOLVED, That we oppose any efforts to extend the 19institution of marriage to 2 individuals of the same sex, 20whether by statute or by court decision; and be it further 21 RESOLVED, That we urge the members of the General Assembly, HJ0095- 3 -LRB097 22073 GRL 70799 r 1acting under their authority under Article XIV, Section 2 of 2the Illinois Constitution, to adopt House Joint Resolution - 3Constitutional Amendment 50, an amendment to the Illinois 4Constitution stating that "Only a marriage between a man and a 5woman shall be valid or recognized in Illinois", which if 6adopted would be on the ballot at the 2014 General Election; 7and be it further 8 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 9delivered to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook 10County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, Cook County Clerk David 11Orr, and all other County Clerks and State's Attorneys in the 12State of Illinois.