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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, April 18, 2008
California
Gov.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
won
praise
from
gay
rights
activists
last
week
after
announcing
his
opposition
to
a
proposed
same-sex
marriage
ban
that
may
come
before
state
voters
in
November.
Speaking
at
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
national
convention
in
San
Diego,
Schwarzenegger
(R)
predicted
the
proposed
state
constitutional
amendment
would
fail.
The
measure
would
prohibit
gays
and
lesbians
from
marrying
each
other
in
California.
“I
think
it
will
never
happen
in
California
because
I
think
the
California
people
are
much
further
along
with
that
issue,”
he
said
April
11
in
an
onstage
interview
with
Patrick
Sammon,
president
of
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans.
Schwarzenegger
said
he
“will
always
be
there
to
fight
against”
the
amendment.
He
spoke
out
against
the
amendment
despite
having
twice
vetoed
bills
from
the
California
Legislature
that
would
have
legalized
same-sex
marriage.
The
governor
rejected
the
separate
bills
in
2005
and
2007,
arguing
that
California
voters
already
spoke
out
against
same-sex
marriage
by
supporting
Proposition
22
in
referendum.
More
than
61
percent
of
voters
supported
that
measure
in
2000.
Proponents
of
this
year’s
amendment
are
busy
collecting
the
1.1
million
petition
signatures
needed
by
Monday
to
get
the
amendment
on
the
ballot.
There
are
reports
that
VoteYesMarriage.com,
the
group
leading
the
initiative,
has
already
turned
in
around
900,000
signatures.
VoteYesMarriage.com
did
not
return
a
call
seeking
comment
by
deadline.
If
proponents
submit
enough
signatures
to
get
the
amendment
on
the
ballot
and
voters
approve
it,
the
measure
would
block
any
action
from
the
Legislature
or
the
state
courts
in
legalizing
same-sex
marriage.
California’s
high
court
is
considering
a
case
in
which
same-sex
couples
are
suing
the
state
for
the
right
to
wed.
Judges
are
slated
to
make
a
ruling
no
later
than
June
2.
If
the
court
decides
that
California
must
allow
same-sex
marriage,
voter
approval
of
the
proposed
amendment
in
November
would
overrule
the
judges’
decision.
Scott
Tucker,
a
spokesperson
for
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
said
Schwarzenegger’s
comments
in
opposition
to
the
amendment,
in
addition
to
remarks
made
prior
to
his
onstage
interview,
demonstrate
that
the
governor
believes
that
Republicans
should
not
use
gay
rights
as
a
wedge
issue.
“Obviously
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
is
somebody
who
understands
that
the
Republican
Party
needs
to
focus
on
unifying
core
principles
that
bring
Republicans
together
rather
than
divisive
social
issues,”
Tucker
said.
John
Marble,
spokesperson
for
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
said
Schwarzenegger’s
opposition
to
the
initiative
is
welcome.
“Even
from
someone
who
has
twice
vetoed
marriage
equality
legislation,
we
think
it
is
important
to
have
the
support
of
Gov.
Schwarzenegger
in
opposing
this
ballot
initiative,”
Marble
said.
Kara
Suffredini,
the
state
legislative
director
for
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force,
also
said
Schwarzenegger’s
comments
are
helpful
in
her
organization’s
efforts
to
defeat
the
amendment.
“I
think
it
can
only
help
anytime
you
have
a
state
governor
that
says,
‘I
don’t
support
an
initiative
like
this,’”
she
said.
“It
definitely
gives
us
a
little
bit
of
momentum.”
But
Suffredini
said
the
governor’s
statements
on
marriage
have
often
“been
very
confusing.”
Schwarzenegger
has
sometimes
said
he
stands
behind
the
voters’
decision
to
prohibit
same-sex
marriage
with
Proposition
22,
and
at
other
times
the
governor
said
the
matter
should
be
left
to
the
courts,
she
said.
Schwarzenegger
spokesperson
Aaron
McLear
said
the
California
governor’s
position
on
same-sex
marriage
has
been
consistent.
The
governor
believes
that
while
the
courts
have
the
authority
to
determine
whether
Proposition
22
is
legal,
it’s
also
wrong
to
“go
around
the
Supreme
Court
here
through
the
initiative
process”
with
an
amendment
this
fall,
McLear
said.
“He
wasn’t
talking
about
the
issue
of
gay
marriage,
he
was
asked
about
responding
to
this
particular
initiative,
which
would
amend
our
constitution
to
supersede
the
Supreme
Court,”
McLear
said.
“He
thinks
that’s
the
wrong
thing
to
do.”
Schwarzenegger
has
no
plans
to
take
any
further
action,
such
as
appearing
at
rallies,
to
oppose
the
marriage
amendment,
McLear
said.
Suffredini
referred
to
defeating
the
California
amendment
as
the
Task
Force’s
“biggest
priority”
and
said
her
organization
has
“invested
a
ton
of
financial
and
staff
resources”
to
counter
VoteYesMarriage.com’s
efforts.
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