Doing the right thing can be difficult or unpopular. Yet the state of Illinois has joined the right side of history by legalizing same-sex marriage. Illinois is the 16th state to do so.
The Augustana Observer is proud that Illinois has joined Augustana College in making history and headlines.  In November 2012, Augustana became the first Lutheran college in the United States to allow same-sex weddings to be celebrated in our campus chapel.
It’s encouraging that Augustana and now its home state of Illinois can put themselves under scrutiny in order to back the most recent civil rights movement in the United States: equality of sexual orientation.
It is through these kinds of bold statements that institutions like Augustana and the Illinois state government will be able to turn the tide of history and establish the equal rights that citizens of the United States so often claim to strive for.
Now, not only can same-sex couples hold their wedding ceremony on Augustana’s campus, but the state that Augustana resides in will recognize that wedding.
If that isn’t something to be proud of and to celebrate, that only goes to show that the attitudes and values of the citizens of the United States need to start changing for the better.