Rep. Deb Mell To Announce Engagement To Partner Christin Baker On The House Floor Today (VIDEO)

As the gay marriage debate continues across the country, the gay community in Illinois has yet to see much progress on the issue--and one state representative wants to change that today.

Rep. Deb Mell, an outspoken gay rights advocate, will announce her engagement to her partner of more than five years on the House floor Wednesday, she told Carol Marin Tuesday on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight."

Mell, daughter of Ald. Richard Mell and sister of Patti Blagojevich, has been with her partner Christin Baker for more than five years--and is tired of waiting to tie the knot.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to get married in Illinois," Mell told Marin Tuesday.

The couple told Marin about their April 10 engagement at the Signature Room in the John Hancock Center, where Mell presented Baker with an engagement ring atop Baker's creme brulee during a dinner with Baker's family. The restaurant erupted in applause.

On Wednesday, Mell will ask House Speaker Michael Madigan for permission to address her colleagues--and tell them about her engagement. She said she hopes they see that she and Baker are no different than any other couple in love.

"I really hope that they see us and they see us as a regular couple," Mell said. "We pay taxes, we pay our bills, we have a home together...Please give us our rights."

"We're not to be feared," Baker added.

The couple plans to marry in Iowa--where gay marriage is legal--in the Fall of 2011, but Mell is not thrilled about having to cross the state line to marry.

"I mean, we could go to Iowa, and Iowa's great. I went to school in Iowa," Mell said, "But you know what? It's not the state where I represent. it's not the state where I grew up in. It's not the state I love."

"We are going to be legally married in Iowa," said Baker, adding, "I can call Deb my wife."

Marin asked Baker how she felt about joining the very political Mell family--especially with the trial of Mell's brother-in-law, Rod Blagojevich, slated for this summer.

"It's a fun family, isn't it?" Baker said smiling.

"Gay or straight, I figure you'd have to be madly in love to even consider having Dick Mell and Rod Blagojevich as your in-laws," Marin wrote in her Wednesday column.

Mell was arrested in 2004 while protesting her inability to get a same-sex marriage license from the Cook County clerk's office. She hopes her announcement spark up a conversation on the House floor about gay marriage in Illinois.

WATCH the "Chicago Tonight" segment here:

Comments

[StealGeorgia]

10:08 PM on 04/29/2010

I'm glad they are getting married. I've been married for nearly 18 years. I love it. I highly recommend it. Its amazing how good you feel when you stop "living together" and are actually legally married.

Marriage - Real Marriage - Accept no substitutes.

Congrats!

[EquallyWed]

04:11 PM on 04/28/2010

Equally Wed, the nation's premier same-sex wedding magazine, wishes Deb Mell and Christin Baker a lifetime of happiness!

http://www.equallywed.com

[48thGuy]

03:23 PM on 04/28/2010

I'm starting to be annoyed by the Mell family in general...If she wants to get married in Illinois, she should marry a MAN!!!...But obviously, she's not WOMAN enough!

[KenClay]

02:08 PM on 04/28/2010

Congratulations! Been Married to my partner legally in MA. for almost 6 years on May 20th. Been with my partner nearly 38 years.. This is not about me it's about all who want to Marry and live like FIRST class citizens! We Deserve the same rights as anyone else in a Committed Marriage and want the same Federal rights we all deserve!

[JeremiahA]

01:44 PM on 04/28/2010

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

This is not a problem, Ms. Mell. Many cohabiting heterosexual and homosexuals are already in long-term relationships.

"I want to get married in Illinois."

This is also not a problem. Same-sex couples can have wedding ceremonies in all 50 states.

"We pay taxes, we pay our bills, we have a home together..."

If this is true, so what? What follows from this? Did they do these things just because they live a lesbian lifestyle? No, they did them because they are human beings and citizens like all of us.

"Please give us our rights."

What rights are being denied? Ms. Mell, you have the same rights and restrictions that every other citizen of the United States has.

[joncushman]

02:23 PM on 04/28/2010

Same rights? Seriously has the far right just completely disavowed intelligence? I know they continue to delude themselves but do they actually think their silliness worked on others?

BTW I'm for civil unions against gay marriage. Marriage is a religious institution.

[JeremiahA]

12:15 PM on 04/29/2010

I understand the statement that all citizens share the same rights and restrictions equally concerning marriage is a profoundly unsatisfying one for those who wish to marry someone of the same sex, but it is still a legitimate statement, nonetheless.There is no legal inequality, only an inequality of desire which is not the state's concern.

[Raven24]

02:51 PM on 04/28/2010

JeremiahA:
What is life like on Mars? I should tell you that life on planet Earth and in the U.S. specifically is pretty cool..except of course if you happen to be gay and want to get married. Currently gays in this country do not have that right and the host of benefits that come with that right.

[JeremiahA]

12:26 PM on 04/29/2010

Gays can marry and receive every one of the privileges and benefits of state-sanctioned marriage. However, they cannot marry someone of the same sex. Other restrictions include marrying more than one person, a close family member, etc. I can't marry any person I love. If I fell in love with my daughter or sister, I could not marry them. I am restricted in the same fashion as everyone else is.

Society gives special benefits to married couples because marriage fits a unique purpose to build families and raise the future members of the society. There is no obligation for society to give every human couple the same entitlements simply to stabilize the relationship.

[IkkoIkki]

12:19 PM on 04/28/2010

what a cute couple. if cuteness was a product these two could bottle and sell it

[taxpaying]

11:44 AM on 04/28/2010

Best Wishes to the Happy Couple. Having been in a monogamous, committed relationship for over 30 years and wanting the legal rights of a Federal married couple after learning what it took to maintain a solid relationship from observing my parents I applaud their engagement.

The Bible says the greatest gift of all is love and judge not lest ye be judged but religion stomps on that love. This is not a relationship between cousins, with an animal, multiple partners or any of the other issues that are broadcast as condemning it. I do not hate those who speak out against this but I do pity them when they meet their Creator if he asks why you worked to destroy the love between two monogamous, consenting adults and their unconditional love?

[Raven24]

02:00 PM on 04/28/2010

taxpaying:
Save your pity. The Human Rights movement in this country don't need it. This couple is representative the hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans working hard to take small but necessary steps for equality. Their story is newsworthy but what is not are your ridiculous assumptions that your "Creator" is everyone else's and that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Perhaps some education on sexuality or sociology or any other science related field in place of weekly bible study could help you make less misinformed statements on this issue.

[shadowlightgirl]

03:17 PM on 04/28/2010

Raven24... not sure why you responded this way to somebody who is showing support for gay marriage. They weren't passing judgement on gay marriage but showing support for it and for us as gay people in commited relationships. They said they pity the people who condemn us. They're on our side here... why the chip on your shoulder?

[Peter Double]

11:39 AM on 04/28/2010

Good luck. I hope it sparks the argument and we can see some progress so that all of my gay friends can have the same rights I enjoy!

[okjoel]

11:15 AM on 04/28/2010

Ugh.

[brabc1]

11:15 AM on 04/28/2010

Wow. Repubs will flip out. They are so disturbing.

[whizzobutter]

10:49 AM on 04/28/2010

It's a matter of time before gay marriage is simply accepted. I've been happily, heterosexually married more than 20 years, have gay friends and neighbors, and they're no threat to me, my marriage, or my kids. This is just a straw man argument for wingnuts.