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Saturday, January 22, 2005
Law - Governor signs gay rights bill into law
"Governor signs gay rights bill into law: Legislation first proposed in 1974 passed House, but stalled in Senate." Of course this story is not from Indiana, it is from one of our sister states, Illinois. As reported in the Chicago Tribune today:
More than 30 years since the state's first gay rights bill was introduced in the General Assembly, Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday signed significant changes in state law that ban discrimination against gays and lesbians by landlords, real estate agents, employers and lenders.Blagojevich signed the controversial legislation, which went into effect immediately, in a hall packed with more than 150 gay rights supporters cheering him on. The governor was also joined by more than 25 legislators and activists who spoke about the historic import of Blagojevich's signature on a bill first proposed in 1974. * * *
With the signing, Illinois becomes the 15th state with a gay rights law. "What we're doing today is as old as the Scripture: Love thy neighbor," Blagojevich said. "It's what Jesus said when he gave his Sermon on the Mount: `Do unto others what you have others do unto you.'"
The measure adds "sexual orientation" to existing state law that protects against discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion. Opponents had argued the law opens the door toward a shifting of social norms and said the next step will be legalization of gay marriage.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 22, 2005 09:50 AM
Posted to General Law Related