(750 ILCS 80/5)

Sec. 5. Purposes; rules of construction. This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purpose, which is to provide same-sex and different-sex couples and their children equal access to the status, benefits, protections, rights, and responsibilities of civil marriage. Nothing in this Act is intended to abrogate, limit, or expand the ability of a religious denomination to exercise First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution nor is it intended to abrogate, limit, or expand the Illinois Human Rights Act or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-597, eff. 6-1-14.)