With the wins in California and Washington, some Springfield legislators say they will now make a serious push for equal marriage legislation this year in Illinois. 
As they do so, we can expect that the usual suspects to loudly bray
about how “unfair” equal rights legislation is, and demonize LGBT people
in the process.

Chief among them will be Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George. 
George is already on record comparing lesbians and gays to the KKK, and
repeatedly defended that insulting comparison before finally issuing
what many considered an inadequate apology.  The “apology” implied that
he still thinks that many lesbians and gays are fascists, and he
justified his blasts against us by playing the victim card, saying he
was motivated by his alleged fear for “the liberty of the church.”

But he’s hardly a victim. George, as head of the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops, spent tens of thousands backing
the anti-gay referendums Proposition 8 in California and Question 1 in
Maine.  After the passage of the civil unions bill in Illinois, George
pompously predicted, “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in
prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”

As marriage equality moves forward this year in Illinois, look for
Cardinal George to once again take his bigotry out from under wraps,
trying to lean on Illinois legislators to vote against equality.

As a cover for this bigotry, look for him to try to play the victim
role again, falsely stating that equal marriage legislation in Illinois
would somehow force the Catholic Church to celebrate marriages it
chooses not to.

Look for him to violate the church’s tax-exempt status by using its institutional power to advocate on legislation.

We can sit back and take it –
as Californians fatefully did with the Mormon Church before the passage
of Proposition 8 – or we can proactively push back against this bigotry
now.

Please come to Freedom to Marry Day 2012 at 10:30 AM this Sunday, Feb. 12 in front of Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State Street,
and stand with the majority of lay Catholics and others of good will
who support equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
people.

This protest was initiated by the Gay Liberation Network and is supported by the 8th Day Center for Justice, the Chicago Rainbow Sash Movement, Dignity/Chicago and Equality Illinois.