CHICAGO - This morning, Judge Sophia Hall granted the motion brought by Illinois ACLU and Lambda Legal to dismiss the lawsuits they filed in May 2012, challenging Illinois’ marriage laws as unconstitutional according to the Illinois Constitution. The Thomas More Society, whose attorneys represented downstate County Clerks as intervenors in the lawsuit, filed a motion on November 6, 2013, contending that the lawsuit should be dismissed as “moot” after the Illinois General Assembly voted to amend the marriage law in Illinois to allow gay marriage. On December 9, 2013, ACLU and Lambda Legal attorneys conceded that the case was moot by filing their own motion to voluntarily dismiss the case.
“We’re pleased that the ACLU and Lambda Legal agree with us that their lawsuits are now moot and thus should be dismissed,” said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel of the Thomas More Society. “Because the concerns of people of faith were ignored by the Illinois General Assembly when it redefined marriage under state law, we now turn our attention to the protection of the religious liberty rights of Illinoisans who object to being forced to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies.”
