CA. Marriage Equality Bill Defeated

June 3, 2005

SACRAMENTO — The California Assembly has passed up a chance to make history.

The Assembly narrowly defeated a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in the state. The measure lost by a slim four votes in the 80 seat Assembly.

Even so, nearly a quarter of the Democrats voted with Republicans to reject the bid. It was the second time in two days that the measure was voted down.

Activists in the state had hoped the issue would come up for a third vote on Friday, the last day new bills could be considered, but it was not to be.

The Assembly leadership decided there were too many other pieces of legislation pending.

The close vote, though, was encouraging for Assembly members who support same-sex marriage.

We had people who were adamantly against it last year who were speaking adamantly in favor of it on the floor, said Democratic Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, a supporter of the bill. This was progress even though it's not enough.

LGBT activists say they will be back next year to try again.

We will come back to the California State Assembly, State Senate and Governor Schwarzenegger to fulfill our state constitution's promise of equality, said Shannon Minter, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights in a statement late Thursday night.

The loss leaves Massachusetts as the only place in the country where same-sex couples can wed.

Same-sex marriage in that state came about as the result of a court ruling. Had the bill in Sacramento passed it would have made California the only state where marriage equality was the supported by the legislature.

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, was authored by openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno ( D-San Francisco).

The bill would have required local clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples but allow people opposed to same-sex marriage to refuse to conduct weddings.

The measure had the support of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and other key Democrats. Last month the California Democratic Party passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage.

Even if it had passed the Assembly, the bill would still have needed to clear the Senate before going to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So far Schwarzenegger has sent mixed messages about same-sex marriage.

In a January meeting with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle Schwarzenegger suggested that this may not be the best time to push marriage equality, saying that a legislative push to fully recognize marriage rights for gays might backfire.

Eventually in a few years from now, you can readdress it again and see what the people of California think, he told the paper. You cannot force-feed those kind of things.

Last year in a Tonight Show appearance Schwarzenegger said marriage equality would be fine with me if it were enshrined in state law or ruled legal by the courts.

The issue of same-sex marriage also is slowly heading toward the California Supreme Court. Last month a San San Francisco judge ruled that state laws preventing marriage equality are illegal.

Meanwhile, a conservative group called the Voters' Right to Protect Marriage Initiative has begun collecting signatures to have a proposed amendment to the California Constitution banning same-sex marriage placed on the 2006 ballot. If approved by voters it would not only bar gays and lesbians from marrying but also void the state's landmark domestic partner law.

Last week, LGBT groups and their supporters announced a broad coalition to combat the attempt to amend the Constitution. On Monday, the nation's two largest LGBT civil rights groups announced a million dollar fundraising drive to help defeat the proposed amendment.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign announced they would donate up to $100,000 each as a challenge to encourage others to contribute.

The groups said they hoped to raise the $1 million by Labor Day.

We know that it's going to take a huge amount of money and intense organizing to defeat this hurtful and immoral initiative, said Matt Foreman, the Task Force's executive director.

This is too important and we can neither afford to lose nor wait another day.