Illinois Unites for Marriage shares the story of Robert and Steven, a Chicago couple who had hoped to marry in their home state of Illinois before Steven lost his battle with melanoma.
They never had the chance.
Says Robert:
"He wanted one thing in his whole life and that was to get married and he didn't get it. And he will never get it now. And I don't think they realize that we're real people. Thousands of us have probably missed out just in Illinois. I don't understand the problem. People are dying without being equal. Civil unions are not marriage. A different title does not mean it's the same thing. You have a group of people that you call something different and yes, everybody's gonna think they're different. And we're not, really."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…