Mayor Emanuel Voices Support For Same-Sex Marriage

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, center, celebrates civil unions in June 2011. nimataradj

Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined more than 75 mayors in voicing support for same-sex marriage at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C. Emanuel said, "it's consistent with our values," and we sure agree. The Tribune writes:

"I've always been a supporter of equality as it relates to marriage for the gay and lesbian community, and the reason is, we all take it basically as a given," Emanuel said, listing the health and retirement benefits that heterosexual married couples share with their partners.

The mayors created the Mayors for Freedom to Marry group, comprised almost entirely of Democrats. One more great thing Emanuel said, "To me, marriage is a recognition of love, and the state should not be in the business of discriminating."

We're glad to hear it, and we hope Emanuel's endorsement and the Civil Unions Act passed last year is a sign the state is moving toward approving same-sex marriage. The announcement on the mayor's Facebook page inspired a number of comments, both positive and positively hateful. Caution: Reading comments may make your blood boil.