Chicago’s first openly gay alderman on Wednesday called on the Cook County Board to give the green light to same-sex marriages, though he conceded the issue is controversial even among homosexuals, and that other matters may rank higher in importance to many gays and lesbians.
Despite President Bush’s contention that homosexual unions threaten “the most fundamental institution of civilization,” Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th) contended that just the opposite is true. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed would “add stability to an institution that is shaky at best,” he asserted.
“Fifty percent of marriages fail,” Tunney said. “I look at my own family, and I know my parents are divorced. I have brothers and sisters who are divorced. The fact that … a gay person wants a relationship I think is no threat to the institution.”
Tunney said many gays and lesbians may be less focused on the same-sex marriage issue than on working for the election of a Democratic president or passage in Springfield of a long-stalled bill that would bar discrimination against homosexuals in employment and housing.
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Compiled from RedEye news services.
