In May, detractors of openly gay Rep. Greg Harris, angry that he had not called for a vote on marriage equality, pointed out that the man who would have enjoyed the glory for the bill's passage would carry the blame for its shortfall.
Harris had declined to call for a vote on the bill before session ended in May because he doubted that the bill had the votes to pass. He was keeping a promise to call the bill only when he had the votes, but some felt he was doubling back on another to call the bill before spring session ended. Harris told supporters that his colleagues vowed to back the bill during fall veto session.
On Nov. 5, Harris stopped being the man who failed to call for a vote in May and became the force behind the passage of marriage equality in Illinois. With just one vote to spare, Harris called for a passed SB10, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act. The bill's passage will result in same-sex marriage in Illinois in June 2014.
Harris took a few moments with Windy City Times to reflect on what changed between spring and fall that led to the bill's passage and the second-guessing he did in-between.
Windy City Times: What changed between May and November?
Greg Harris: I think two major things changed. Certainly the ruling in the Supreme Court made it very clear to many of my colleagues that we have done all the things in the state that we can do with civil unions. … Once the Supreme Court ruled in June and struck down those portions of DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act], people clearly understood that each and every day that went by, there were harms that were being done to their constituents who could not get social security benefits, who were not able to get veterans benefits, who could not even be at home with a sick child with family medical leave. So, that was one huge thing.
The other major thing that changed was the tremendous mobilization across the state of families, of faith leaders, of community leaders who came forward and said the time is now and it's the right thing to do.
WCT: When did you know that the votes were there to pass this?
Greg Harris: Certainly when we put it up on the board, I knew that the votes were there. I had been working with Speaker Madigan over the weekend, who had been really making the case to some of my colleagues that this was the right thing and the right time.
WCT: Rep. Naomi Jakobsson left her dying son to come vote for this bill. What did you say to her after this vote?
Greg Harris: I think all of us should just be terribly indebted to her and respect her and family for making this decision that she needed to get here. She was one of the first co-sponsors of the marriage bill to sign on because this is so important to her family. She had the courage to do what she did and for her family to say it's the right thing to do at that time, it's just something I'll never be able to express enough admiration for.
WCT: This was really a close vote. How difficult was it for you to pull in the last few votes?
Greg Harris: At the end of the day, Speaker Madigan really made a concerted effort to talk to people about why this is the right thing, why this is the right time, to explain to people why this is where the country is going, this is where Illinois is going, it's where we all should. As he said in his floor remarks, at the end of the day, we need to look at ourselves and say, "who are we to judge?" And I just love those comments.
WCT: A lot of people doubted you, but you played the long game, and it paid off. Did you have doubts about that strategy?
Greg Harris: The decision to wait it out turned out to be the right one … but I would search my soul every night thinking, "oh my god, was this the right decision then?" At the end of the day, we all did things that turned out really, really well. We all did things that, you know, probably could have been better. At the end of the day, we won. There was such a tremendous outpouring. The March on Springfield made a huge difference to my colleagues—wet, cold people coming down to express their love and their faith and their commitment and their dedication to this issue. There are so many things that went well.
WCT: I know there has been talk of legislative efforts to speed up the marriage start date. Is that a long shot? How possible do you think that is?
Greg Harris: My theory on all this stuff is you just put one foot in front of the other and you just do the next right thing [which is] to get this signed into law by the Governor on the 20th of November, and then you go from there.
WCT: What is next for you? What are you excited to work on now that this has passed?
Greg Harris: All the stuff I've worked on all along—homeless youth issues and breast cancer issues and criminal justice issues.
WCT: Greg, is there anything you want to add?
Greg Harris: I just want to thank people in all corners of Illinois who stood up and fought for equality, fought for justice and made this happen. This was a group effort. This could not have happened without everyone pulling together in their own way.
