Chicago Mayor Daley on gay marriage: 'no problem'

FRAN SPIELMAN, Sun-Times City Hall Reporter , reports:

Mayor Daley said Wednesday he would have "no problem" with County Clerk David Orr issuing marriage licenses to gay couples -- and Orr said he's open to a San Francisco-style protest if a consensus can be built.

"They're your doctors, your lawyers, your journalists, your politicians," the mayor said. "They're someone's son or daughter. They're someone's mother or father. . . . I've seen people of the same sex adopt children, have families. [They're] great parents.

"Some people have a difference of opinion -- that only a man and a woman can get married. But in the long run, we have to understand what they're saying. They love each other just as much as anyone else.''

A devout Catholic, Daley scoffed at the suggestion that gay marriage would somehow undermine the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.

"Marriage has been undermined by divorce, so don't tell me about marriage. You're not going to lecture me about marriage. People should look at their own life and look in their own mirror. Marriage has been undermined for a number of years if you look at the facts and figures on it. Don't blame the gay and lesbian, transgender and transsexual community. Please don't blame them for it," he said.

Daley said he has no control over marriage licenses in Cook County. But if Orr wants to take that bold step, the mayor has no problem with it.

Orr said he was "game to looking at options" provided a consensus could be built.

"I'm fed up with people being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. We can't even pass a law that eliminates discrimination against gay couples. [But] whatever you do when it comes to challenging laws, you want it to be effective and not knee-jerk," Orr said.

The clerk noted the protest that has gay couples from around the nation lining up for hours outside San Francisco's City Hall was meticulously planned.

It wasn't just "the clerk waking up one day and deciding to marry someone," Orr said. It had the support of the entire "city apparatus" in San Francisco -- from the mayor, City Council and advocacy groups on down. That's the model that would have to be followed here, Orr said.

"Whether or not, here in Cook County, we should be considering a San Francisco or other kind of protest, that is what some of us are discussing. I'm quite interested in exploring that with key players in the city and county. I'm already discussing that with a number of advocacy and key groups. I would like to discuss it with the mayor," Orr said.

State law says same-sex marriage is contrary to public policy. It recognizes only a marriage between a man and a woman.

Daley and Orr are going farther than gay activists are willing to go on the issue of gay marriage.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), Chicago's first openly gay alderman, said his top legislative priority is to pass Senate Bill 101 prohibiting statewide discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing and employment.

"We're putting the cart before the horse. We have to get to that step first and then we move incrementally," Tunney said.

Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, applauded Daley for taking the lead on the explosive issue of gay marriage. "No one can accuse Mayor Daley of being some left-wing pinko. ... It means a lot. It sets a tone."

Last fall, the county board authorized Orr to issue certificates of domestic partnership that carry no legal rights. Garcia believes it's time for Orr to take it a step further and issue marriage license to gay couples. But he's not about to "initiate anything at this point" with a formal protest.