Illinois fulfills Lincoln's pledge...150 years and one day later.

It was fitting, indeed touching, to listen live to Governor Quinn invoke the words of Illinois son Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address as he signed the Illinois Marriage Equality bill:

"Our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that ALL men are created equal".

Lincoln didn't just refer to white people or straight people, he was referring to ALL the people. So when Governor Quinn affixed signature to law he was fulfilling Lincoln's most eloquent vision spoken at Gettysburg exactly 150 years ago yesterday. All Illinoisans, straight, gay, or a combination thereof, should join together in our common humanity and celebrate this great advancement in human freedom in Illinois. Quinn mentioned the very public event was held in part to encourage the remaining 34 states to join with Illinois and the other 15 states to make marriage equality universal in America, as it is so becoming in much of the civilized world.

Sadly, homophobes and their enabler dead enders are digging in to feed the hole in their soul that drove them to keep the shackles of discrimination around Illinois gays. Springfield Catholic Bishop Thomas Paprocki held an exorcism ceremony simultaneous with the marriage equality bill signing "in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage". Chicago Cardinal George offered this inhumane nonsense on the bill signing: "This law...is bad because it will contribute over the long run to the further dissolution of marriage and family life, which are the bedrock of any society". Paprocki and George didn't get the memo from boss man Pope Francis to get over homophobia to concentrate on true Catholic spirituality. On the secular front, David E. Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, a state affiliate of the American Family Association, sent out a fundraising appeal warning that gay marriage in Illinois will help America's collapse like "Sodom and Gomorrah".

Just like racism didn't end with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, homophobia will not end with today's gay marriage legalization. We all need to stand up for this advancement and resist calls for continued fear, ignorance and intolerance.