Anti-gay IL groups mobilizing coalition against marriage equality

A group of anti-gay organizations has announced a coalition to oppose same-sex marriage in Illinois, after lawmakers announced they would call for a vote on a marriage equality bill come January. The Coalition to Protect Children & Marriage was announced Dec. 18. Among its listed members is Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society, and the lead attorney battling two lawsuits that seek to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Other groups included the Illinois Family Institute, Eagle Forum of Illinois, Abstinence and Marriage Partnership, Illinois Citizens for Life PAC, Lake County Right to Life, Concerned Christian Americans and Family-Pac, according to a press release. That release notes that other groups will likely be added to the coalition. Paul Caprio, director of Family-Pac, said that the coalition would use the resources of those organizations to lobby against same-sex marriage in Illinois. He said that the question of same-sex marriage in Illinois is now a federal issue, since civil unions grant same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples.