ILLINOIS: AG Tells All Counties They Can Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
The letter was sent to the Macon County clerk's office, in response to a request for legal guidance following a Feb. 21 ruling from U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman. The ruling allows Cook County same-sex couples to get married now, before a state law on the matter that takes effect June 1. In the letter, Madigan said other counties were not bound by last month's ruling, but that her office expects it “to be persuasive” to other courts addressing the matter. If a couple sues an Illinois county after being denied a marriage license before the law otherwise takes effect, she said, her office would intervene on the side of the plaintiffs and argue that the denial is unconstitutional.
Labels: Illinois, LGBT rights, marriage equality
