SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House has adjourned without taking a vote on legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Supporters filled the House gallery Friday in hopes the measure would be called. The bill cleared the Senate in February.
But the sponsor of the bill said at the end of the day he didn't have enough support to pass it and didn't call it for a vote. It capped months of arduous lobbying by gay-rights advocates and opponents.
Opponents said marriage should be between a man and a woman. They also feared the bill would force religious organizations to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their facilities.
Proponents touted it as a civil rights matter, and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn had pledged to sign it into law if it reached his desk.
