Saturday, September 03, 2005

Holding the Sack in Sacramento

As early as Tuesday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could get a law to sign or veto granting Massachusetts-style same-sex marriage to his citizens. It is an interesting time for him, facing as he does, plunging approval ratings and the certainty of having to raise taxes soon.

The bill got Senate approval Thursday (21-5; almost straight party vote). It goes to the Assembly, likely Tuesday, according to its author, Assemblyman Mark Leno (Democrat). According to an AP report, he "predicted that the Senate vote would help sway his undecided colleagues. In June, the Assembly rejected his bill by four votes."

Those in favor think the gravity and innate fairness of the law will bring in the yea votes this time. According to the San Francisco Chronicle article, many lawmakers have come to realize that this will be one vote by which their political careers are measured.

Yet if they pass it, Schwarzenegger is as likely to veto it as not. The votes to override are not there in the Senate and will not likely be there in the Assembly. That would be quite a gamble either way for him.

For background, five years ago, voters approved a ballot question that put marriage as one-man/one-woman in the state Family code. Anti folk scream "WILL OF THE PEOPLE!"

This is more evidence that the majority should never vote on civil rights for any minority. Sharing rights tastes as bad to most voters as sharing wealth does.

Also, California was the hippy-dippy laid back state that had a gender-neutral code governing marriage. It did not have any heterosexual definitions in place until it added them in 1977. If the new law passes, it will only return the state to its previous condition by doing so.

As Max Romeo had it, "Onward, forward, don't step backward. Step out of Babylon."

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