The champagne was not even uncorked before Gov. Schwarzenegger announced last night that he would veto the ground-breaking law passed by the California Assembly Tuesday granting same-sex couples the legal right to marry.
We hear from the Governor’s spokespeople that he believes the law should be decided by either the people or the courts. Apparently they didn’t make him read the State Constitution before he left the movie set for the Governor’s Office, but the legislative and executive branches are also responsible for making law. In fact, some would argue that it’s their job to enact the most difficult laws, since they are the ones we have entrusted to lead this state.
The argument that he can’t sign this important law because of Proposition 22 is a very thinly veiled copout. Not only is Prop 22 a different animal than the same-sex marriage law (the latter goes to people’s constitutional rights, which trumps all else) it was passed more than five years ago, before San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom showed the world that granting marriage licenses to loving same-sex couples would not cause giant cracks in the earth to open up. Schwarzenegger recently sent out an email criticizing a poll because it gauged people’s views from two weeks earlier. Surely he could see how opinions about the same-sex marriage issue might be changed in five whole years. But no, he insists on pandering to his right-wing allies.
Many have expressed disappointment and outrage that they didn’t even get 24 hours to celebrate this hard-fought victory. Perhaps Schwarzenegger’s advisors told him that he had to come out against the bill sooner rather than later, in order to curb the flood of lobbying letters and calls that were jamming up his office.
Here at Speak Out California, we don’t plan on letting him get off that easy. Send a letter to the Governor now, urging him to do the right thing and sign this bill.

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