Same-Sex Marriage Supporters, Opponents Rally in Downers Grove

Hundreds of opponents of same-sex marriage gathered Saturday morning outside State Rep. Ron Sandack's Downers Grove office, where they also faced off with gay rights activists staging a counter protest.

The Defend Marriage rally was organized by the Illinois Family Institute, a conservative non-profit that opposes Senate Bill 10—the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act—which was passed by the Illinois Senate in February and is awaiting a vote by the House.

A counter-protest was organized by two Chicago-based pro-LGBTQ groups, the Civil Rights Agenda and the Gay Liberation Network.

Sandack, one of only two Republicans in the Illinois House who support the same-sex marriage bill, did not plan to attend the rallies, but made a brief appearance to defend his position.

"With all due and humble respect, I truly appreciate you coming out and exercising your constitutional right to petition the government and make your voices known. You have my respect," Sandack told protesters. "To be completely forthright, I am going to vote for the bill."

Sandack told reporters that despite his "profound respect" for those who oppose same-sex marriage, he believes "equality in marriage is what our constitution supports."

Barbara Bellar, a former Republican candidate for the Illinois Senate, expressed the IFI's frustration with Sandack's position.

"We've invested our sacred trust in him, and he is misrepresenting his district," Bellar said. "It shouldn't be about his ego or about pressure—it's about his constituents and doing the right thing ... Senate Bill 10 needs to burn and die."

The IFI claims on its website that same-sex marriage in Illinois would "negatively affect every aspect of our society and have disastrous consequences for children."

Downers Grove resident Neil Summers brought his wife and young son to the rally to voice his opposition to same-sex marriage.

"Sandack thinks all of these people here aren't from Downers Grove, but I live here and I don't support the bill," Summers said.

As representatives from the IFI and other conservatives spoke about the importance of marriage between "one man, one woman," more than 100 pro-LGBTQ supporters waved rainbow-colored flags and chanted, "One man, one man, one woman, one woman."

The Rev. Kirk Moore of St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Downers Grove told the crowd that his church has opened its doors to gay and lesbian Christians, and that he personally supports same-sex marriage.

"I believe (same-sex marriage) is the right thing to do, and I look forward to everyone having equality under the law," Moore said.

Despite the tension between the two groups, the rally and counter-protest were relatively peaceful, said Downers Grove Police Chief Robert Porter.

"Our job is just to make sure that everyone is able to exercise their constitutional right in a peaceful and safe manner," Porter said.

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