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Los Angeles
Times
Schwarzenegger tells
backers of gay marriage:
Don't give up
The governor
expresses hope that Proposition 8
would be overturned
as protesters continue to march
outside churches
across California.
By Michael Rothfeld
and Victoria Kim, latimes.com from the Web, November 9, 2008
Reporting from Sacramento and
Pasadena — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today expressed hope that the California
Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed
same-sex marriage. He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian
couples who have already married would not be affected by the initiative.
"It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end," Schwarzenegger said in an
interview on CNN this morning. "I think that we will again maybe undo
that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and
again lead in that area."
With his favorable comments toward gay marriage, the governor's thinking appears
to have evolved on the issue.
In past statements, he has said he personally believes marriage should be
between a man and a woman and has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex
marriage. Yet he has also said he would not care if same-sex marriage were
legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be
determined by the voters or the courts.
Following that position, he publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the
state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is
valid or recognized in California."
Today, Schwarzenegger urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he
learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at
first. "I learned that you should never ever give up. ... They should
never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."
The governor's comments came as protesters took to the streets for a fifth day
in a row, sometimes marching to Catholic and Mormon churches that supported
passage of the ballot measure with public pronouncements and campaign donations.
Hundreds of protesters gathered down the hills from Saddleback Church, an
evangelical mega-church in the Orange County city of Lake Forest, to speak out
against Proposition 8. As several thousand congregants attended services
inside the church, passing motorists nearby beeped horns in support to
demonstrators waving placards that read, "Equal Rights" and "You Cannot Vote
Away Civil Rights." The protesters had dispersed by early afternoon.
In Los Angeles, 75 protesters showed up to a demonstration at Lincoln Park on
the city's Eastside. They were outnumbered by police, soccer players and
children enjoying the park. But organizers called their Lincoln Heights
event a triumph, saying the largely Latino community had seen very few protests
over Proposition 8.
"My optimistic projection was 25 people," said Robert Olivares of the
Latino/Latina LGBT Coalition. "We're hoping that eventually 300 people
will show up. For us, that's beyond a success."
In Oakland, a swarm of protesters at the city's Mormon temple prompted the
California Highway Patrol to close two nearby highway ramps.
Other demonstrations were planned today outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels in downtown Los Angeles and at other churches in La Jolla and Palm
Desert.
To be sure, not all churches supported Proposition 8.
All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, a well-known liberal church with 4,000
active members, has been blessing the marriages of gay and lesbian couples for
the last 16 years.
"The evil of discrimination against our lesbian sisters and gay brothers is
still alive in the passage of Proposition 8," the Rev. Ed Bacon told about 1,000
parishioners attending the Sunday morning service. "We will continue to
bless same-sex unions here until we can legally celebrate same-sex unions
again." His words brought extended applause and a standing ovation from
the congregation.
After the service, Bacon and other clergy members held a news conference on the
church steps. They were surrounded by gay and lesbian couples, some
holding hands, some standing with young children in tow.
"I know these couples. I know their relationships," Bacon told a phalanx
of television cameras. "They should be celebrated, rather than disparaged.
How dare a religious body say these people are not holy and these relationships
are not holy?"
Rothfeld and Kim are Times staff writers.
michael.rothfeld@latimes.com
victoria.kim@latimes.com
Times staff writers Tony Barboza, Sam Quinones and Kenneth R. Weiss contributed
to this report.
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