62nd House hopefuls split on gay marriage

The candidates for the 62nd House District seat in central Lake County have polar-opposite views on gay marriage, an issue that's divided lawmakers, activists and voters in states across the country.

Republican state Rep. Sandy Cole, who's seeking a third term in the legislature, opposes gay marriage. She also opposes civil unions, agreements that are legally recognized in some states and are designed to give partners in gay or lesbian relationships rights and benefits.

"I will continue to vote no as long as the people in the district I represent oppose civil unions and gay marriage, or until the courts rule otherwise," Cole explained.

Cole's Democratic challenger, Rich Voltair, strongly supports the legalization of gay marriage.

"It is neither a state nor a federal issue. It is about basic human rights," Voltair said. "The same rights should exist for all people everywhere on Earth."

Cole and Voltair fielded questions about gay rights and other issues in a recent e-mail exchange with the Daily Herald.

Like most states, Illinois has not legalized gay marriage or civil unions.

Cole, of Grayslake, said she's repeatedly voted against civil-union legislation at the committee level.

"I have polled my district five times on this issue, and although the support of civil unions increases, the opposition prevails," she said in an e-mail. "Gay marriage has greater opposition."

Gay and lesbian couples can make end-of-life and life-insurance related decisions under existing contractual law, Cole said.

When it comes to same-sex partners inheriting Social Security or public pension benefits, the courts will have to intervene, Cole said.

Cole also questioned if the state could handle the additional financial responsibility of paying those benefits to same-sex partners.

Voltair, a first-time candidate from Round Lake Beach, called marriage a "fundamental human right" that shouldn't be decided by majority vote.

Same-sex couples should have the same rights to health insurance, child custody, end-of-life decisions, inheritance, and adoption as heterosexual couples, he said.

Voltair compared the issue to the Civil Rights fight in the 1960s. Just as plenty of white people championed equal rights for blacks then, he supports equal rights for same-sex couples, he said.

"My girlfriend and I have marched in the annual Pride Parade because we have a moral obligation to pursue justice, not because we personally benefit in any way," Voltair said.

Furthermore, Voltair called the arguments against gay marriage "absurd" and attributed resistance to a generational divide.

"As a 32-year-old, I hold views that are consistent with my age group," he said. "These views represent the future and it is only a matter of time before the previous generation expires and our generation takes over."