On Feb. 20, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI).
In 2006, PMI attempted to put an anti-same-sex marriage referendum on the November ballot. However, The Illinois State Board of Elections halted PMI’s attempt by announcing on Aug. 11 that it would not certify the measure.
Referendum supporters submitted more than 330,000 signatures. However, a sample of them did not satisfy the state’s requirement of 95 percent; only 91 percent were considered valid. The measure’s advocates then decided to pursue a federal appeal to have the state’s requirements deemed unconstitutional.
Lambda Legal issued a statement applauding this latest development. ‘We are pleased that the United States Supreme Court rejected a desperate attempt to undermine the will of the people and push ahead a radical measure that the people of Illinois clearly did not want on their ballot,’ said Jim Madian, a staff attorney for Lambda’s Chicago office.