Chicago Mayor Will Push for Marriage Equality

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel says he'll lobby for the marriage equality bill pending in the Illinois state legislature, the Chicago Tribune reports.

"I'll push for it because it is consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that I think is right as a city, as a state and as a country," Emanuel told the Tribune today. "If you have two loving adults, that should actually be held up as a positive, whether it's male or female, but in this case female-female, male-male. I think that's proper, and we shouldn't as a state discriminate."

Emanuel, a former congressman and onetime chief of staff to President Obama, supported marriage equality during his campaign for mayor in 2011. Illinois began offering civil unions to same-sex couples last year, and Emanuel has officiated at civil union ceremonies for several couples, including one of his key aides and his partner. He also has joined the national Mayors for the Freedom to Marry campaign.

The legislature's three openly gay members introduced the marriage equality measure last week. Gov. Pat Quinn, who supported and signed the civil unions bill, said Tuesday that he has not decided whether to sign the marriage bill if it passes.