This is suh good news! I've lost track of which of your States has passed legislation like this, and which of them got it overturned by central Govt (is that called the Federation?) If this one lasts that's fantastic and if it doesn't, it still makes history, and over time the flipping between yes-you-can and no-you-can't will have to stop.
The federal government cannot turn over any civil union or gay marriage legislation passed by the states. However, in some states the state courts have ruled for marriage and then the legislature has overruled them or a state constitutional amendment has been passed to deny those rights again. Further, because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), no gay marriages or civil unions are recognized on the federal level even though they may be legal on the state level, and only a few states will recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
If you're married out of state, you get grandfathered in. I'm rather relieved; the idea of having to have a separate ceremony in order to get rights in Illinois did not appeal.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States
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Now if only your neighbor to the north (i.e., Wisconsin) had any hope of following suite.
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