SCHWARZENEGGER TERMINATES GAY MARRIAGE BILL

As expected, on Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger again vetoed a same-sex marriage bill which had been passed by the California State Senate.

This is the second time in the last two years that Schwarzenegger has opposed a bill that would legalise same-sex marriage in the state of California.

Bill AB43, which had been introduced by Assemblyman Mark Leno, received 22 votes in favour compared to 15 votes against in the legislature.

Schwarzenegger said that he vetoed the bill because he feels that the issue of same-sex marriage should be decided by voters and the California Supreme Court and not by legislators.

The court is set to decide next year whether a state referendum in 2000, in which voters chose to ban same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional.

The governor stated that, despite the veto, he nevertheless believes that Californians “should not be discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation.”

Geoff Kors, Executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group, called the veto “hypocrisy at its worst,” adding that “we find it shocking for the governor to say he opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation and then veto a bill that would have ended discrimination based on sexual orientation.”