(Calif.) Assembly passes same-sex marriage bill

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/06/MNsamesex06.TMP

Sacramento -- 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 has approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage without court intervention. But supporters had a harder time mustering support in the Assembly, where the bill had already failed once this year, falling four votes short.

Supporters called the measure a much-needed civil rights law and a recognition that all Californians must be treated equally.

more

[Book Lover]

1. Arnie's contact info

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

To send an Electronic Mail please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov

[BayCityProgressive]

3. OH MY GOD GO DEMOCRATS

I AM SO PROUD OF CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS! THIS IS A HUGE STEP FOR THE DEMOCRATIC WING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!! I actually won't be surprise dif Arnold signs this. His popularity is so low he may sign it to gain favor with gays. He has no support from the religious right so I don't see how it could hurt him.

[TaleWgnDg]

2. This is great news . . . but will . . .

.
This is great news . . . but will . . . Governor Schwarzenegger sign same-sex marriage into law in California? Schwarzenegger's opinion over the years has been all over the place regarding same-sex marriage:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/02/MNGNM5C3B31.DTL

Apparently, if Schwarzenegger does not sign same-sex marriage into law, there does not seem to be the necessary over-ride to a veto in the California state legislature.
.

[closeupready]

5. He doesn't have to sign it, nor veto it. He could legally do nothing.

and it would still become law.

This is the kind of thing that REALLY inspires gays to work hard for Democrats, getting out the vote and giving their money and time to get them elected!

Yay! :hi:

[TaleWgnDg]

11. Yes, of course, I should have mentioned that . . . thanks.

[Book Lover]

6. You are apparently right

According to the article, Leno had to bust his nuts to get it passed by one vote today, and all Repubs voted no on the bill.

[Lexingtonian]

10. But that's the fun part of this game.

Basically, the national GOP is going to lean on him to veto. Fall on him like a ton of bricks, actually- the Christian Right will go apeshit against the RNC if they can't beat Arnie into line.

If he vetos for all the usual stupid Christian Right reasons, he's toast among California moderates and that will kill him off politically this November.

My impression from what I've read is that he doesn't personally oppose gay marriage- he thinks it kinda wierd, but isn't upset by it. And he's politically smart, and even right, about the issue itself- he told the Legislature to hold off for a while (a year or two) until the electorate settles down on it.

Half of the game here is that the Legislature Democrats have found an unexpected and nasty political wedge issue to California Republicans. The fun bit about gay marriage is that since the Bush campaign maxed out the 'backlash' a year ago the rebound in support has been strong and recently broke into positive territory- civil union supporters are converting over at a pretty remarkable rate. If Massachusetts is anything of a guide, that referendum in California in November 2006 should fail- just barely, but fail.

This is remarkably productive political manouver, though it has some serious risk, for the California legislature Democrats. Schwarzenegger and his buddies can already be tarred with the Enron brush. This game tars the rest of the California GOP with the Christian Right bigotry brush.

If Arnie vetos this fall, this thing will be the gift that keeps on giving. If he does, and polling next year puts gay marriage support over 50%, the legislature Democrats are simply going to pass the bill again next summer and use it to kick the GOP and Christian Right again as bigoted, out of touch, liars, hypocrites, fools etc etc.

In the bigger picture California is that big, unaffordable, second losing fight about gay marriage for the Christian Right that bleeds them beyond ever recovering their offensive power. This is the one that breaks them inwardly and turns their efforts into one to 'defend' the innards of the Bible Belt.

[yppahemnkm]

24. Will he veto it?

[ruggerson]

4. Right On

This is great news. Kudos to the legislature in California.

[bemildred]

7. This kicks ass.

Ahnuld must be going nuts trying to decide who to piss off.

[moodforaday]

8. Also in WshPost:

California Legislature Approves Same-Sex Marriage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090602076.html

[Mister Mark]

9. veto?

From the L.A. Times:

Lawmakers will now send the measure legalizing same-sex unions to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has hinted that he will veto it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gaymarriage7sep07,0,3784014.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Bill McBlueState]

12. a court decision???

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the bill, but his office has repeated that he believes the issue should be decided either by a vote of the people or a court decision.

A court decision? So he wants "activist judges to foist their will on the people" or something like that.

Sounds like Republicans prefer whatever method isn't currently being used to legalize gay marriage.

[ruggerson]

13. Yep

If the people voted for it in a referendum, the Republicans would howl that "activist leftist citizens" bypassed the normal legislative process to ensure their desired outcome.

[Katha]

14. California Legislature OKs Gay Marriage Bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Legislature on Tuesday became the first legislative body in the country to approve same-sex marriages, as gay-rights advocates overcame two earlier defeats in the Assembly.

The 41-35 vote sends the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had no comment on the bill when it cleared the Senate last week. His office did not immediately respond late Tuesday to a call seeking comment.

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. “Make sure all California families will have the same protection under the law.”

Leno’s bill had failed in the Assembly by four votes in June, but he was confident he could get it through on a second try after the Senate approved a same-sex marriage bill last week.

Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz called bans on gay marriage “the last frontier of bigotry and discrimination, and it’s time we put an end to it.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9234556/

[Tiggeroshii]

15. Depending on which side he wants to please...

He may or may not veto it.

[IndyJones]

16. Since CA voters already voted against it, I'd be surprised if

Arnie didn't veto it.

[Tiggeroshii]

17. May be.

[ruggerson]

20. Nice Try

California voters voted FIVE YEARS AGO for a proposition which was meant to bar recognition of same sex marriages performed in OTHER states.

This current marriage pertains to marriages performed in California. Besides, polls now show a full half of the state supports same sex marriage, not just civil unions but marriage. So Arnold is on safe ground politically, should he sign it.

Your point is pure Freeper rhetoric. Devoid of fact.

[slackmaster]

26. Where in '22' did it say it applied only to marriages from other states?

I don't remember reading that part.

:wtf:

[xchrom]

18. when dems step into action like this -- it's fantastic!

it's grand to see them work together like a team.

:woohoo: :applause: :woohoo:

[ruggerson]

19. kick n/t

[cally]

21. If Arnie does veto it, he will lose the entertainment industry support

One of the groups that supported him were his hollywood buddies. I don't think he will be as welcome there if he vetoes this.

I'm proud of the Democratic Party of California. :woohoo:

[slackmaster]

25. Sure, but he'll win a lot of support from the Hispanic plurality

About 90% of whom identify themselves as Roman Catholic.

Governator can gain a win on this no matter which way he goes. Watch him. He can go either way: Veto and say "The Legislature is out of touch with the people of Cullyforneeya", or sign it while saying "This action forces the issue to the courts where I've always said it belongs."

The fact that this bill is the right thing to do doesn't make it the wise thing to do here, now.

[hunter]

22. Have a nice day, Arnold!

I hate that this is being used as a political football since gay marriage should, just out of common decency, be celebrated and well founded in our law, but...

... just about anything that puts the heat on Arnold is a good thing.

I've moved beyond wishing for Arnold to be hog-tied and thrown naked onto the floor of the California Legislature. I want him to suffer to the point where the next pretty boy to come along will think twice about running for Governor.

[Peace Patriot]

23. That's great news! I love it when Democrats stand up for progressive

values and Constitutional protections, and will not be intimidated by the tiny rightwing minority that gets such a big trumpet given to them by the corporate news monopolies.

I just wish they would see to the core progressive value of honest elections, and throw these far rightwing, Bushite electronic voting companies--Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia--out of our election system, and demand open source code and other protections for electronic voting--or better yet, paper ballots, hand-counted, the old-fashioned way. (Canada does it in one day--although speed should not even be a consideration--only accuracy and verifiability.)

These Bushite-run companies have thoroughly corrupted our election system nationwide. They have demanded, and gotten, contracts with "trade secret," proprietary programming code for the tabulation of our votes--code so secret that not even our elected secretaries of state are permitted to review it. This last election, Diebold and ES&S tabulated 80% of the nation's vote using secret, proprietary source code, and one third of the country had not even a paper trail (let alone a paper ballot backup) by which to verify the vote.

The 2004 election was non-transparent and unverifiable--and there is a mountain of evidence that Diebold's and ES&S's secret formulas produced the wrong result!

How long are we going to put up with this insanity? Secret formulas for vote tabulation--controlled by Bush campaign chairmen and rightwing billionaires? I mean, come on!

California's progressive Sec of State Kevin Shelley tried to lead the way out of this mire (he sued Diebold and decertified the worst of their election theft machines), and he got "bush-whacked" (with no little help from the cowardly state Dems!). The Schwarzenegger-appointed Sec of State Bruce McPherson, and county election officials like Connie McCormack of Los Angeles, stink of Diebold corruption.

California should be leading the way on this no-brainer reform. (How can we know how the voters voted on the anti-gay marriage initiative, by the way, when THAT election included Sequoia and other electronic voting machines, also with secret programming code--authorized by former Repub Sec of State Bill Jones, who now works for Sequoia?!)

We need a BIG BROOM, in California and across the nation, to sweep these extremely hackable, insecure, unreliable, Bushite-controlled electronic voting systems out of our house NOW--along with a lot of other shoddy corporate crap we don't need!