In One Illinois County, Gay Couples Don't Have To Wait To Get Married

In One Illinois County, Gay Couples Don't Have To Wait To Get Married

Same-sex couples in Cook County, Illinois -- which includes Chicago -- don't have to wait to get married, thanks to a Friday ruling by a federal judge in Chicago.

"There is no reason to delay further when no opposition has been presented to this Court and committed gay and lesbian couples have already suffered from the denial of their fundamental right to marry,” U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman stated in the ruling.

The AP reports Coleman's decision stems from a lawsuit filed against the Cook County clerk, who supports gay marriage. In December 2013, Coleman ruled that same-sex couples that included at least one person with a life-threatening illness could marry.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) signed a gay marriage bill into law in November 2013, which designated same-sex marriages could begin in the state on June 1, 2014.

Read the Cook County ruling below:

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