Illinois to become 15th state to recognize marriage equality

[Minimalist]

Again, the federal courts are simply following the decision of the SC in Romer v Evans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romer_v._Evans

Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with sexual orientation and state laws. It was the first Supreme Court case to address gay rights since Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), when the Court had held that laws criminalizing sodomy were constitutional.[1]

The Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a state constitutional amendment in Colorado preventing protected status based upon homosexuality or bisexuality did not pass the rational basis test, under the Equal Protection Clause.[2] The decision in Romer set the stage for Lawrence v. Texas (2003), where the Court overruled its decision in Bowers,[1] and for the Supreme Court ruling striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor (2013).