Same-sex marriage bill faces veto in California
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com
September 08, 2005

Sacramento -- One day after the California Legislature approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would veto it.

The legislation, AB 849, deletes "a man and a woman" from California marriage law, replacing that phrase with "two persons."

The California Assembly gave final approval to the bill on Tuesday, sending it to Schwarzenegger on a 41-35 vote.

On Wednesday, the Republican governor released a statement through his press secretary Margita Thompson, noting that California voters weighed in on the issue of same-sex marriage five years ago. At that time, 61 percent of them approved Proposition 22, which reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The issue is now before the courts. Said Thompson, "The governor believes the matter should be determined not by legislative action - which would be unconstitutional - but by court decision or another vote of the people of our state. We cannot have a system where the people vote and the Legislature derails that vote. Out of respect for the will of the people, the governor will veto AB 849."

Thompson also highlighted Schwarzenegger's personal commitment to the cause of civil rights, saying that the governor "believes that gay couples are entitled to full protection under the law and should not be discriminated against based upon their relationship. He is proud that California provides the most rigorous protections in the nation for domestic partners," the statements said.

Homosexual advocacy groups that have been cheering passage of AB 849 expressed disappointment on Wednesday.

"Not even twenty-four hours after our historic victory when our families went to sleep dreaming of equality, we are extremely heart-broken and disappointed that the Governor has chosen not to lift the burden of discrimination for hundreds of thousands of loving and committed families," said Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality California.

"The Governor has let us down, but nothing can take away our victory and the progress we have made to achieve equality for all."

Equality California urged Gov. Schwarzenegger to reconsider his decision so he will not go down in history as "The Discriminator."

But conservative groups expressed relief:

"We thank the Governor for understanding the constitutional restrictions on the Legislature and announcing he will respect the peoples' vote to protect marriage licenses for a man and a woman," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), which helped lead the year-long effort to defeat same-sex marriage legislation.

"The governor has spared himself and average Californians much grief with his quick decision."

CCF is now pressing for passage of a state marriage amendment, which it says would fully protect marriage by putting it above the reach of politicians and judges.