Illinois Marriage Equality Law Goes lnto Effect Today

By Jon Graef in News on Jun 1, 2014 7:15PM

As Huffington Post Chicago points out, today, June 1, is the day that the Illinois Marriage Equality law goes into effect.

Last year, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 10 into law Nov. 20, which made the Prairie State the 16th state in the U.S. to recognize same-sex marriage legally.

Since offices are closed, same-sex couples will have to wait until tomorrow, Monday, June 2nd. One of those couples has an amazing story, which Huffington Post Chicago's Joseph Erbentraut tells beautifully:

Come Monday, everything changes for Chicago same-sex couple Jim Darby and Patrick Bova -- in one respect.

Darby and Bova, the lead plaintiffs in Lambda Legal's successful Illinois marriage equality lawsuit, will be among 15 couples marrying at the Museum of Contemporary Art the day after the state's hard-won same-sex marriage law takes effect.

In other respects, Darby, 81, and Bova, 76, are already married. In 1995, they "wed" in an impromptu ceremony at the grave of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, the first gay service member to out himself, in Washington's Congressional Cemetery. As of July, the couple will have been together for 51 years.

Once they complete their vows, Darby and Bova will officially be husband and husband in the eyes of the law, giving them new rights, obligations and protections beyond the civil union they entered in 2011.

Darby, a veteran of the Korean War, said he didn't expect he would live to see his wedding day.

"I did not think this would ever come," Darby told The Huffington Post. "I was involved with the gay veterans for 20 years and it seemed like Don't Ask Don't Tell would never come to an end. And when it did, it came so fast we were almost caught by surprise."

Read the rest of Erbentraut's piece here. Congrats to all of the happy couples out there!