After the Illinois legislature, packed with Democrats, were unable to pass a same-sex "marriage" bill in May 2013 (for which the Democrat governor has pleaded), homosexualists targeted this past week for passage of the bill. However, once again, Illinois church leaders stood in the way of abomination (a.k.a. ObamaNation), and God has blessed the effort (2 Chron. 7:14).
For background, read Illinois Democrats Figure to Lock-in 'Gay Marriage' but they didn't figure this: God Intervenes to Preserve Marriage in Illinois
In addition, read Illinois Democrats Declare One-Man-One-Woman Marriage Law Unconstitutional
UPDATE 11/6/13 - Homosexualists Win: Democrat machine pressures black legislators, promises them money to defeat black Christians in primaries
-- From "Gay marriage opponents at Illinois Capitol invoke God, free speech" by Kerry Lester, Associated Press 10/23/13
Pastors, Christian activists and others addressed a crowd clustered on the first floor of the Capitol rotunda, some peering down from the second and third floor rails, a day after gay marriage proponents held their own event to urge lawmakers to approve it.
"Defend Marriage Lobby Day" —sponsored by the Illinois Family Institute began Wednesday with a morning prayer service outside the state Capitol. The secretary of state's police put number of attendees at 2,500—slightly smaller than the estimate from Tuesday's event.
Pastors from several of the area's black mega-churches are trying to help blunt gay marriage advocates' work to clinch a handful more "yes" votes to secure passage of the measure in the House.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan said just weeks ago that about a dozen votes were still needed for the legislation's passage.
On Tuesday, [Springfield's Catholic] Diocese head, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, barred any pro-gay marriage activists wearing rainbow sashes from attending a Mass. [Diocese Monsignor Carl] Kemme called Springfield a "fearless defender of the traditional definition of marriage."
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From "Traditional marriage advocates pack Capitol rotunda" by Bernard Schoenburg, The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) 10/23/13
“May all recognize that marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation of our society and that marriage as such is essential for the common good,” said Monsignor Carl Kemme of the Springfield Catholic Diocese, as he led a prayer at the rally that filled the rotunda and had people watching over railings from the second and third floors of the building.
Senior Pastor Mark Johnson of Calvary Temple Christian Center in Springfield got applause when he said, "I am against same-sex marriage because I love people."
The rally came a day after a rally and march outside the capital by advocates of making same-sex marriage legal in Illinois. Advocates of that change, a form of which passed the Senate in February, hope for a House vote during this fall’s veto session.
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From "Bishop Stops Gay Activists at Cathedral: ‘Praying for Same-Sex Marriage’ is ‘Blasphemous’" by Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews.com 10/24/13
“The Rainbow Sash Movement has encouraged Roman Catholics to come to Springfield to ‘have a loud Catholic presence for marriage equality,” said Bp. Paprocki in the video. “They have announced plans to gather at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 4:30 p.m., just before the 5:15 p.m. Mass [on Oct. 22], to stand in the Cathedral and indicate that they are there to pray the rosary for ‘marriage equality.’”
“It is blasphemy to show disrespect or irreverence to God or to something holy,” said the bishop. “Since Jesus clearly taught that marriage as created by God is a sacred institution between a man and a woman (see Gospel of Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9), praying for same-sex marriage should be seen as blasphemous, and as such will not be permitted in the cathedral.”
In closing his video statement, Bishop Paprocki said, “Of course, our cathedral and parish churches are always open to everyone who wishes to repent their sins and ask for God’s forgiveness.”
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage was set by nature and God as being between one man and one woman. “Marriage is a basic human and social institution,” states the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, it did not originate either from the church or the state, but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage.”
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UPDATE 11/1/13: From "How Illinois gay marriage fight pitted Obama against black pastors in Chicago" by Peter Wallsten, Washington Post
. . . On its face, the [gay marriage legislation] seemed like a sure bet in Democrat-dominated Springfield. Gay rights activists filled the House chamber on the legislature’s final day in session in May anticipating a historic victory. Obama, the former Illinois senator, had mentioned the pending House vote during a fundraising stop in Chicago that week, saying: “I just want to say for the record it’s something that I deeply support.”
“There is all due respect to the president, but your influence only goes so far,” one skeptical lawmaker, Rep. Monique Davis (D), said over the summer, “especially when the caucus perceives that it, too, has some big issues no one is thinking about. Their children are dying [in widespread Chicago violence].”
Obama “has tremendous sway in Chicago,” [mega-church pastor James T.] Meeks said in an interview over the summer. “However, on this issue, I think people had made up their minds.”
Obama’s largely passive role in the Illinois debate was an early indicator that his declining clout may have been extending even into the state capital where his political career was born.
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