Chicago LGBT activists plan marriage demonstration, protest against Cardinal George

The Gay Liberation Network plans to hold their annual Freedom to Marry Day demonstration for marriage equality outside of Holy Name Cathedral next month.

The demonstration is GLN’s decade-old action to call on the Catholic Church’s opposition of same-sex marriage and is slated to begin outside of Holy Name Cathedral, 730 N. Wabash Ave., Feb. 12. at 10:30 a.m. At the same time, activists from both GLN and the Rainbow Sash Movement, will protest against Cardinal George for pitting LGBT rights against the Catholic Church, according to a release from GLN.

“As easily the single largest, and arguably most influential religious denomination in Chicago and Illinois, any notion of a ‘threat’ to the Catholic Church here is patently absurd,” read the release. “What is true is that Cardinal George and the Church leadership internationally have used their considerable influence to try to stop civil rights for LGBTs.”

Earlier this month, GLN called off a protest against George after he apologized for offending people with his comparison of the gay rights movement to the Ku Klux Klan. After canceling the protest, GLN vowed to double their efforts for their Freedom to Marry Day demonstration.

In addition to RSM, Dignity Chicago has endorsed the protest, and Equality Illinois has agreed to publicize it through their “social media channels,” according to the release.

“Cardinal George, for example, has opposed every advance for LGBT rights in Chicago, in Cook County, and across the state – largely without success. Unfortunately, he has had more luck helping our enemies win victories in California and Maine, where anti-gay bigotry defeated marriage equality, at least for the short term,” stated RSM Executive Director Joe Murray in a separate statement. “Polls show that a majority of Catholics in the pews back LGBT rights.  It is the hierarchy of the church that is out of step with the membership for which they falsely claim to speak.”

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Chicago, who wished not to be named, said that they have no information about the upcoming demonstration and that they do not yet know about any actions they will take at Holy Name Cathedral.