Tuesday, Nov. 5 was a day that will go down in history as Illinois joined 14 other states in affirming gays’ right to legally wed. A milestone for gay rights was made possible by the House vote of 61 to 54 and the Senate vote of 32 to 21, in favor of the gay marriage bill, officially entitled HB0110 the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.

The gay-marriage bill is to be signed into law by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on November 20th. “Marriage equality is coming to Illinois,” Quinn said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. “I look forward to signing this landmark legislation on Nov. 20 and celebrating a big step forward with the people of Illinois.” The signing of the bill will take place at the University of Illinois at the Chicago Forum at 3:30 p.m., which will open its doors to the public said Quinn’s office.

Illinois will be the 15th state to have legalized same-sex marriage. However, there are still some 35 state constitutions in which same-sex marriage is banned.

None of the same-sex marriage laws in New York, California, Connecticut, as well as 11 other states could have been made possible if it weren’t for the support of gay marriage shown by communities and organizations nationwide.

New Trier has its own such organization that worked in supporting gay rights, including gay marriage. Committed to Action (CTA) is a club at New Trier that “is committed to ending homophobia and intolerance at New Trier and in society at large,” as described by New Trier’s 2013-2014 student supplemental handbook, After the Academics.

The club has been operating since the late 1990s. Supportive clubs such as CTA play an important role in the community. Social Studies teacher Aileen Geary decided to join the organization to help promote awareness. “I am an out-teacher and there were very few at that time. I remember what it was like before gay straight alliances.” Geary worked with CTA prior to becoming the head sponsor of the organization in 2009.

Students are welcome to join CTA as it is “open to all students,” not only those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender. “Members work in a socially accepting atmosphere to talk about issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth [LGBT], raise awareness, and strategize ways to make schools safer for all students,” said Geary.

Committed to Action actively fights against homophobia and prejudice towards LGBT students. This is done through various fundraisers. “The main thing we sponsor is the Day of Silence. That is our largest event, and we get good participation from both campuses. We also invite speakers to talk about LGBT issues and fund petitions.”

CTA reaches out to all students, as Geary stated, “The goal of the club is to work on making school a safer place for students regardless of their sexual gender or identity. We do engage in larger issues concerning LGBT rights, but our main priority is student safety.”

The affirmation of lawmakers for gays’ right to wed comes with mixed response. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, the Catholic Conference of Illinois released a statement that it is “deeply disappointed that members of the General Assembly chose to redefine what is outside of its authority: a natural institution like marriage.” Another opponent of the law, Bishop Larry Trotter stated to the Chicago Tribune, “We will always believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. Yet we still love the members of the LGBT community.”

For most though, the passing of the gay-marriage bill through the House of Representatives and Senate come as a relief.  Jim Bennett, a regional director for Lambda Legal (a national gay-rights group) said to The Wall Street Journal, “Same-sex couples and their children can celebrate a new era of equality. This victory will be a catalyst in our ongoing efforts.”

In response to the passing of the gay-marriage bill, Geary replied, “It’s been a long time coming.”