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When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the same sex marriage bill, AB849, the reasons he gave were not the strongest ones he could have offered. He said redefining marriage is too important to be done by the legislature, especially since the people of California overwhelmingly supported a referendum defining marriage as an opposite sex institution. But the Governor need not hide behind the popular referendum. There are substantial reasons to veto this bill, apart from the obvious fact that it is a poke in the eye to the electorate. The bill changed marriage from “a civil contract between a man and...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger followed through Thursday on his promise to veto a bill to legalize gay marriage in California, saying the issue should be decided by voters or the courts. “This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue,” the Republican governor said in a veto message. “If the ban of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional this bill is not necessary. If the ban is constitutional this bill is ineffective.”

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today delivered on his promise to veto legislation that would have given same-sex partners the right to marry, but said he would not support any rollback of the state's current domestic partner benefits. That stance would put him at odds with two initiatives being pursued by conservative groups for the ballot next year. Those measures would not only prevent gay marriage, but also eliminate rights domestic partners currently enjoy. "I am proud California is a leader in recognizing and respecting domestic partnerships and the equal rights of domestic partners," Schwarzenegger said in his veto message....

The aftermath of Katrina obscured many stories from public view. One of them concerned same-sex marriage. It deserves much more attention, particularly from national politicians. On September 1, the California state Senate, by a vote of 21 to 15, approved same-sex marriage for the Golden State. On Tuesday, September 6, the state Assembly approved the same bill by a margin of 41 to 35. No Republican voted for the measure, and four Assembly Democrats voted against it. The bill proposed changing the legal definition of marriage from "a civil contract between a man and a woman" to a "civil contract...

San Francisco -- Gay rights activists are lobbying Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to come out against a pair of proposed constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriage in California and revoke the spousal rights already granted to domestic partners. Schwarzenegger has signaled he intends to veto a bill passed by the Legislature this month that would have legalized same-sex marriage. Though hopeful his mind can be changed before the Oct. 9 veto deadline, leaders of Equality California, the state's largest gay rights group, said they also plan to use a meeting with the governor's staff next week to press for Schwarzenegger's...

Schwarzenegger's Promised Gay Marriage Veto Gets Lukewarm Response Saturday, September 10, 2005 By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos WASHINGTON — Though California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (search) has promised to veto a bill by the Assembly that would permit gay marriage because he says it goes against the will of the state's people. But some groups aren't happy to hear that while many Republicans have been arguing that justices around the country have been engaging in judicial activism as they interpret the Constitution in ways that allow gay marraige, the governor prefers that the courts handle the issue. "It's not an issue for...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vow to veto a landmark same-sex marriage proposal this week -- saying it violated the will of the people -- has prompted the bill's authors to delay delivering the bill to the governor to give gay-rights advocates two weeks to bombard him with calls, e-mails and protests in a last-ditch effort to win support. "The governor has said he supports the will of the people," said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, one of the Legislature's six openly gay members. "Well, let the people call him, let the people e-mail him, let the people be heard. Then he...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a profile in timidity this week when he vowed to veto a pioneering bill authorizing gay marriage in California. The bill, which both houses of the Legislature passed by narrow margins, would expand the definition of marriage to include a civil contract between two people, not exclusively a man and woman. This was an enlightened and fair-minded stand that made California's Legislature the first in the nation to approve same-sex marriages. Too bad Mr. Schwarzenegger could not find the courage to sign the bill into law. Instead, even before receiving the bill, he announced a tortured...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that he will veto a bill seeking to allow gay marriages in California. Schwarzenegger said the legislation, given final approval Tuesday by lawmakers, would conflict with the intent of voters when they approved Proposition 22. That measure was put on the ballot in 2000 to prevent California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. "We cannot have a system where the people vote and the Legislature derails that vote," the governor's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said in a statement. "Out of respect for the will of the people, the governor will veto (the bill)."...

By the slimmest of margins in each house, 21-15 in the State Senate (21 votes needed for passage) and 41-35 in the State Assembly (41 votes needed for passage), the California legislature sent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the homosexual marriage bill, AB 849. When the governor vetoes this bill, it will cement his reelection and start his long march back to the top of the heap in California politics. Assemblyman Mark Leno’s (D-San Francisco) first attempt at passing a homosexual marriage bill, AB 19, failed twice on June 2, first on a 35 to 37 vote, then on a 37 to...

It is imperative that he vetoes this bill since he says he represents the people, this was an intitiative that passed by 62% and he is trying to run the state by initiative. If he doesn't he would be done as governor because it would be hypocritical to sign something that overrules what the people voted.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gay rights supporters cheered loudly from the gallery as California lawmakers became the first in the country to approve a bill allowing same-sex marriages. But their celebration may be short-lived. ADVERTISEMENT The legislation could be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has expressed an acceptance of gay marriages but said it's an issue that should be decided by voters or the courts. "He will uphold whatever the court decides," spokeswoman Margita Thompson said Tuesday after the state Assembly approved the same-sex marriage measure, 41-35. The Senate had approved it last week. A state appellate court is considering...

The California legislature became the first elected body in the US to approve gay marriage, passing the bill in the Assembly 41-35 and setting up a conundrum for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill defies a vote from five years ago, when Californians overwhelmingly voted to approve a measure which specified that marriage should remain between one man and one woman: The bill's supporters compared the legislation to earlier civil rights campaigns, including efforts to eradicate slavery and give women the right to vote. "Do what we know is in our hearts," said the bill's sponsor, San Francisco Democrat Mark Leno....

The California Legislature on Tuesday became the first legislative body in the country to approve a bill allowing same-sex marriages, but the measure faces an uncertain future with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. There were loud cheers by gay-rights activists in the Assembly gallery as lawmakers voted 41-35 to approve the bill and send it to the governor. The Assembly had twice defeated similar legislation. A spokeswoman for the Republican governor said Schwarzenegger believes the issue should be decided by the courts, not by his signature on legislation. A state appellate court is considering appeals of a lower court ruling that overturned...

A landmark bill to legalize gay marriage passed the Assembly by a single vote Tuesday and now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not said whether he will sign it. The measure passed on a 41-to-35 votes, with no support from Republicans. The author of the bill, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, worked desperately throughout the day to find the votes needed for passage. The Senate approved AB849 last week, marking the first time a legislative body in the country to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. But supporters had a harder time mustering support in the Assembly, where...

The Assembly just passed gay marriage 41-35. The bill now goes to the Governor. Updates, and who voted how to follow on this thread

SAN FRANCISCO - Last week's state Senate vote seeking to legalize gay marriage is the latest example of the political schizophrenia that has come to define the issue in the nation's most populous state. Since 1999, when lawmakers established a registry of same-sex couples, California has been in the vanguard of extending to gay and lesbian partners nearly all the rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples. But for all the state's live-and-let-live social tolerance, voters have balked at granting gay couples the right to marry. In 2000, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 22, which strictly defined marriage as the union of...

Q: What's next? A: The bill must go before the Assembly, which rejected an identical bill earlier this year 37-36. Proponents of gay marriage are now fiercely lobbying four Democratic lawmakers – including Assemblyman Tom Umberg of Santa Ana – who did not cast votes when the Assembly rejected the earlier bill. Umberg said he doesn't know what he'll do. "That's a big question. Assuming the bill comes up, my vote will be decided as a matter of conscience. It's a vote of historic proportions. I recognize that. But I'm still reading and thinking about it," he said. Q:If the...

California's Senate has voted to allow gay marriage, making it the first legislative body in the nation to back the idea and setting off a frantic scramble for votes in the Assembly. The 21-15 vote Thursday handed gay rights advocates in the country's most populous state a historic victory. Massachusetts issued marriage licenses to gays and lesbians only after court rulings. "We are so very close," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat who wrote the bill. "It would be very disappointing for this body not to be able to stand up for civil rights." Leno said he planned to bring...

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- The California Senate approved legislation Thursday that would legalize same-sex marriages, a vote that makes the chamber the first legislative body in the country to approve a gay marriage bill. The 21-15 vote sets the stage for a showdown in the state Assembly, which narrowly rejected a gay marriage bill in June.