
California Reintroduces Gay Marriage Bill
California's newly sworn Legislature on
Monday reintroduced legislation that would allow gay couples to marry in
the state of California and also another bill that would let unmarried,
heterosexual couples register as domestic partners.
Assemblyman
Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he hoped the Republican Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who vetoed a nearly identical gay marriage bill in 2005,
would change his position on the new bill. Schwarzenegger has said it is
up to voters or the courts, not lawmakers, to settle the contentious
issue of gay marriage.
California law does not permit gay marriage, but gay couples who
register as domestic partners are given most of the same rights as
married couples.
A Superior Court in San Francisco ruled last year that having separate
rules for gay and straight couples was unconstitutional. But an appeals
court reversed that decision in October, saying it was up to the
Legislature, not the courts, to decide whether to change the traditional
definition of marriage.
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