Representatives from Equality Illinois, The Civil Rights Agenda and Illinois Unites for Marriage held a press conference June 2 to raise questions on Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner's stance on same-sex marriage—or lack thereof.
At a November Tea Party speaking engagement in Quincy, Illinois, Rauner, who has usually tried to frame himself as a social moderate, said that he would have vetoed the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act since he thought it was an issue that should have been put to voters in a referendum.
Though marriage equality became the law of the land June 1, and has been available to Illinois residents in several counties since February, marriage advocates now want to call attention to those comments, as well as point out what they see as troubling associations Rauner has made.
"Governor Quinn has not just fought for marriage rights, he has used every tool in his arsenal to help us pass the marriage rights bill," said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois. "On the other hand, Bruce Rauner has used every opportunity to express his opposition to marriage for same-sex couples, going so far as to say that he would veto marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, even though it provides crucial protections for gay and lesbian couples … and that is shameful."
Jim Bennett, chair of the Illinois Unites for Marriage Coalition, added, "We'll never know where Bruce Rauner stands on this issue, or any issue, because he just usually says what's most convenient. In April of last year, when he was pushed to weigh in—on what's really one of the biggest civil rights issues of our generation—he ultimately decided that he wasn't for it or against it. So we're just to assume that it doesn't matter to him, but it matters to us and it matters to our community."
Anthony Martinez of The Civil Rights Agenda said the announcement was spurred by Rauner's endorsement May 30 by GOProud, a California-based group for gay Republicans.
"Interestingly, the one organization that was not part of our mass efforts to win marriage for our gay and lesbian citizens in Illinois was the one group that Bruce Rauner now claims has endorsed him," noted Bennett. "In fact, we're not even sure that group was active ( then ), but we know for a fact that that group was not in Illinois when we were fighting for marriage equality."
Rauner was asked by Carol Marin on WTTW's Chicago Tonight in June 2013 whether he was "ducking" the topic of marriage equality, to which he replied, "I will not lead on that issue."
Martinez added during the June 2 conference that Rauner should "quit hiding behind the referendum. …We wouldn't be celebrating this historic moment if Bruce Rauner were governor. The good news is Governor Quinn got the job done, and we are moving forward."
