Sixteen Illinois couples have sued after they say their applications for marriage licenses were denied by a county clerk.
The complaint was filed one year after civil unions were implemented for same-sex couples in Illinois. It was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County after county clerk David Orr reportedly denied marriage license applications for the couples.
The case, called Darby v. Orr, seeks to have the state’s “prohibition on marriages between two individuals of the same sex” declared invalid.
It is part of a pair of lawsuits backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Lambda Legal.
The other action involves nine couples challenging the constitutionality of Illinois law which allows for more-limited civil unions but not for marriage for same-sex couples. The couples are among the 16 involved in the first action. They are represented by ACLU lawyers.