On Monday, Sept. 17, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would continue vetoing any bills placed on his desk that would legalize same-sex marriage in California.
The governor has until Oct. 14 to veto or sign a measure passed by the state legislature Sept. 7. If the governor keeps his word, Schwarzenegger will repeat the decision he made in 2005 when he turned down a similar bill. He announced his decision to the media in a response to a question asked during a press conference regarding his health care plan.
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would define marriage as a civil contract between two people. It would also allow religious groups to refuse to sanction same-sex couples.
Schwarzenegger said that he would veto any similar measures passed by the legislature until voters overturn Proposition 22, an anti-gay initiative passed in 2000.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the governor had announced in February that he would veto a same-sex marriage bill again, but the legislature passed it anyway.
Equality California (EQCA) is urging Californians to sign the 2007 Marriage Petition, which asks for the governor’s support and encourages him to meet with gay and lesbian couples.
‘By excluding gay and lesbian couples from marriage, the state of California perpetuates a system that treats one kind of family differently than others,’ EQCA executive director Geoff Kors said in a statement released by the organization. ‘This is the definition of inequality that the governor claims to oppose.’