Knowing it was going to happen doesn't make me less PISSED

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Gay Marriage Bill Source: kcbs Publication date: 2005-09-29 (KCBS/AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a landmark bill legalizing same-sex marriage in California. "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." Schwarzenegger had promised to veto the bill, saying the issue should be decided by voters or the courts. Earlier this month, the legislature became the first lawmaking body in the nation to legalize gay marriage without a court order when it passed AB849 by a razor-thin majority. The law would have nullified a Prop. 22, a 2000 referendum which defined legal marriage as an institution between one man and one woman. In March, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer issued a decision to overturn that law. The attorney general is now asking an appeals court to reinstate the law because California already has granted most of the rights and duties of marriage to same-sex couples registered with the state as domestic partners. AB849's author, San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, said Prop. 22 contradicts Article I of California's constitution. "[It] very simply states that a citizen or class of citizens may not be granted privileges not granted on the same terms to all citizens," Leno told KCBs. "That is the foundation stone of our democracy and he cares to ignore it." Leno called on the governor to join him in sponsoring another gay marriage bill during the next legislative session that would go before voters on a referendum ballot. "The governor wants to duck and say we don't have a representative democracy in California. We have to go to the voters or the court. Of course, when we go to the courts and win the opposition says we have activist judges," said Leno. The governor refused to meet with Leno and a lesbian family in the days prior to the veto. "I in my heart believe that if we were to join hands, Republicans and Democrats together," said Leno, "then we could pass this at the ballot." The governor's office refused two calls from KCBS seeking comment on Thursday afternoon. (Copyright 2005 by KCBS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) (updated 4:23pm, jro)