CHICAGO — A number of African-American clergy and conservative Catholics say they’ll ban Illinois lawmakers from their churches if they vote in favor of same-sex marriage.
WBEZ Radio reported that about two dozen priests and pastors joined the Catholic Conference of Illinois to form a new religious coalition yesterday
“We want to make sure that we a send a message to our elected officials that as a collective community and a collaborative, we will not allow you to speak in our churches, you will not be invited to our church when you’re running for office because we as a community are incensed,” said Bishop Lance Davis, senior pastor at a church in Dolton, who’s part of the group.
The measure is a part of a media campaign the coalition is planning to launch Friday. The group said they will approach 75 churches this weekend to ask people to contact lawmakers and urge them to vote against the same-sex marriage bill.
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The Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois, was approved last week by the House Executive Committee, sending the measure to the full House for a vote.
The bill, SB 10, was approved by the state Senate on February 14.
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has pledged to sign the measure if it reaches his desk, which would make Illinois the 10th state in the nation and to allow same-sex marriage.
