365 Gay News » Deb Mell

Ill. lawmaker’s engagement spotlights gay marriage

Jennifer Vanasco/editor — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:07:28 +0000

(Springfield, Ill.)Illinois lawmaker Deborah Mell is sharing some bittersweet news with her colleagues.

The sweet is that she’s engaged. The bitter is that Illinois doesn’t recognize gay(...)

Rep. Deb Mell: ‘You can’t legislate who you love’

Jennifer Vanasco/editor — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:41:56 +0000

Rep. Deb Mell, a state legislator in Illinois (and, full disclosure, a friend of my partner) said Tuesday on a local Chicago TV news show that she would be announcing her engagement to her(...)

Ruby-Sachs: As gay rights take a hit, perhaps another lesbian in Congress?

ERubySachs — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:13:10 +0000

Right now there are three out gay congressional representatives, Jared Polis (CO), Barney Frank (MA), and Tammy Baldwin (WI). But when Rahm Emanuel accepted the chief of staff position in the(...)

Ruby-Sachs: A Chicago politician talks about gay schools in her city

ERubySachs — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:04:42 +0000

Deborah Mell, an out lesbian running for Illinois State Representative in the 40th district attended the public meeting last night. Her opinion on the proposed school for LGBT teens: “Kids in classrooms need to be exposed to diversity, but creating a tolerant environment involves systematic change to the school system. This is going to take time. [...]

Meet Deb Mell – running to be Illinois’ first lesbian legislator

Jennifer Vanasco/editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:24:14 +0000

Deborah Mell was expecting a peaceful event when she joined hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Chicago for a pro-gay marriage rally in March 2004.

Instead, things got rowdy, and Mell was(...)