Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
The turnout for our Defend Marriage Lobby Day on Wednesday was beyond our expectations. I thank each and everyone of you who came out to participate in the largest pro-family event at the Illinois Capitol in memory. Various reports suggest that between 3000 and 5000 people converged on the Capitol. Our presence will reverberate for weeks and months to come.
Showing up was an important first step in the effort to stop the “fast track” effort to redefine marriage. Now we must maintain pressure on our state representatives so they don’t cave in to the homosexual lobby.
Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has assigned the so-called “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,” SB 10 to the Illinois House Executive Committee, which will hear the bill on Tuesday at 3:00 PM. If you are willing and able to come again to Springfield for this hearing, that would be wonderful. You can help lobby legislators and fill out witness slips against this anti-family legislation.
The Executive Committee is made up of 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans, so the outcome may be a foregone conclusion. However, I would encourage calls and/or emails to the committee members:
Chairperson: Daniel Burke (D-Chicago)
(773) 471-2299 or burkedj2@ilga.gov
Vice-Chair: Robert Rita (D-Blue Island)
(708) 396-2822 or robertbobrita@aol.com
GOP Spokesman: Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein)
(847) 566-5115 or ILhouse51@sbcglobal.net
Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago)
(773) 843-1500 or acevedo@sbcglobal.net
Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago)
(773) 637-2000 or RepDistrict3@gmail.com
Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios (D-Chicago)
(773) 736-3939 or repberrios39@gmail.com
Rep. Keith Farnham (D-Elgin)
(847) 841-7130 or krfarnham@gmail.com
Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, Sr. (D- East St. Louis)
(618) 875-9950 or bbsty2010@gmail.com
Rep. Renee Kosel (R-Mokena)
(708) 479-4200 or rkosel@ilga.gov
Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford)
(815) 547-3436 or repsosnowski@gmail.com
Rep. Michael Tryon (R-Crystal Lake)
(815) 459-6453 or Mike@miketryon.com
If SB 10 is passed into law, marriage will be redefined for everyone, stripping it of sexual complementarity. Anyone who does not agree with this new definition of marriage will soon find themselves facing legal consequences as has happened in other states and countries. This will include lawsuits, loss of employment, facing disciplinary boards, etc. Individuals, small businesses, churches, and religious groups are all at risk.
To see how many of our “tolerant” government officials would treat dissenting views or speech, just remember what happened when Chick-Fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy spoke out in favor of natural marriage. His company was threatened with being blacklisted and forbidden to do businesses in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel went so far as to say that “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values.” (Contrast that with Emanuel’s recent defense of an offensive “hook-up” billboard in downtown Chicago in which he said, “We do have a First Amendment.”)
Elected officials in Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC said the same thing: Chick-Fil-A was not welcome because the owner holds a traditional view of marriage. The mayor of the District of Columbia where same-sex “marriage” was imposed by their legislature said, “there is just no place for them [supporters of traditional marriage] in this city.”
How long before they tell our churches, our ministries, and our families that our values are not their values?
Take ACTION: If you haven’t yet sent an email or a fax to your state lawmakers, it is time to speak up now! Click HERE to let them know what you think.
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