California Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes Gay Marriage Bill

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a gay marriage bill Friday, saying voters and the state Supreme Court, not lawmakers, should decide the issue. According to the New York Times, "The Republican governor turned down a measure by Assemblyman Mark Leno that would have defined marriage as a union between two people, not just a man and a woman. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill from Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, in 2005 and has said he would veto all such bills. The California Supreme Court is likely to rule next year on whether the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage violates the constitution. Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that Californians ''should not be discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation.'' He said he supports state laws that give domestic partners many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage."

Read the NYT Article (last visited October 12, 2007 bgf)