Calif. Panels Reject
Gay Marriage Ban
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, May 10, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two
legislative committees on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would
ban gay marriages and strip away a long list of rights granted to domestic
partners in recent years.
The Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees both rejected an amendment offered
by Republican Assemblyman Ray Haynes, who claimed the proposal would strengthen
the intent of voters who approved a ballot measure five years ago that prevents
the state from recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Other laws bar same-sex marriages from taking place in California.
Conservative groups immediately said they would try to gather the nearly 600,000
signatures required to put an initiative banning gay marriage on the ballot in
2006.
''This disturbing display of arrogance against marriage and the voters means
average Californians must take matters into their own hands,'' said Randy
Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families.
Democratic state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, the state's first openly gay legislator,
predicted otherwise. ''This is about America, the place where no civil
rights movement has ever failed,'' she said.
Haynes said the Legislature and the courts had ''eviscerated'' the meaning of
the law banning gay marriages and made up legal arguments to determine it was
unconstitutional.
''When the people said only that marriage could be between a man and a woman,
they knew exactly what they were talking about,'' he said. ''The words
were clear. The meaning was clear. The intention was clear.''
Opponents of the amendment said it was an attempt to repeal domestic partners'
rights. Since 1999, the Legislature has approved a series of bills
recognizing domestic partnerships and granting them most of the rights given
married couples, including the right to sue for wrongful death of a partner and
to adopt a partner's child.
Democratic Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said the proposed amendment amounted to
''legalizing discrimination.''
''The fact is plain and simple,'' he said. ''There is a group of people
who, for whatever reason, do not like gays and cannot tolerate the idea of two
women sleeping together or two men sleeping together. To put that into the
constitution ... is simply unconscionable.''
Meanwhile, in Raleigh, N.C., hundreds of people rallied behind the Legislative
Building Tuesday to urge legislators to allow them to vote on a constitutional
amendment banning same-sex marriage.
''You've got a very vocal, savvy minority that wants marriage to be understood
differently,'' said protester Mark Faggion.
An election on the proposed constitutional amendment appears unlikely.
Two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate are needed to authorize a
statewide vote, but referendum bills filed in both chambers have sat in
committees for three months without action.
North Carolina already has a law banning same-sex marriages and the state
doesn't recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
Associated Press Writer Gary D. Robertson contributed to this
report from Raleigh, N.C.
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