FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 4, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)

Defeat of Bill Strengthens Pro-Family Efforts to Preserve Marriage in Next Legislature

Washington, D.C. — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today praised the Illinois Legislature for refusing to agree to redefine marriage in the waning days of the lame duck session. NOM said that a bipartisan cadre of legislators stood for principle against political pressure.

"We commend the Illinois Legislature for resisting the push of political activists to redefine marriage and to impose a same-sex 'marriage' scheme on the people of Illinois," said Brian Brown. "The entire Senate Republican Caucus stood firm against redefining marriage, and there were several stalwart and principled Democrats who stood firm as well. We are proud of these legislators for doing the right thing and upholding the value of marriage and the concept that children deserve a mother and a father."

Gay activist groups led by Equality Illinois had pledged to push same-sex 'marriage' through the lame duck session of the Legislature, claiming "inevitable" momentum to do so. However, despite enlisting David Axelrod's former firm and reportedly enlisting President Obama to make personal lobbying calls to legislators, they were unable to get the votes to pass it out of the Senate.

"This is a tremendous victory for the grassroots in Illinois," said Brown. "Thousands of people of faith telephoned, emailed and wrote to Senators to oppose the redefinition of marriage. They overcome the machine that so often rules in Illinois politics, and they showed that nothing is inevitable about same-sex 'marriage.' We realize that the fight isn't over and that the battle in the next Legislature will be even more difficult than this one, but we've shown that when people of faith take action, as they did in the lame duck session, Democrats and Republicans can come together to preserve something that is profoundly good for society — true marriage. We will continue to work with pro-family groups to preserve marriage in Illinois, and are strengthened by our victory today."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), eray@crcpublicrelations.com, or Jen Campbell (x145), jcampbell@crcpublicrelations.com, at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).