As most of us know by now, it is likely that we will be looking at an anti-marriage amendment in California this November, where a loss would be catastrophic to the community. I was very surprised, shocked and excited to learn that republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that he is prepared to fight the gay marriage ban if it appears on the November ballot in a speech at a Log Cabin Republican Convention. Like many queer folks, I’ll admit that I’m pretty tired of hearing about gay marriage. But having lived in Oregon during the 2004 election where we lost a marriage amendment (and where my partner and I worked 60 hours a week on the campaign) I know fully well the amount of blatant homophobia that arises when this kind of legislation is on the table. I wasn’t the only one surprised to learn of Schwarzenegger’s opposition to banning marriage, after all, he has twice before vetoed bills that would have legalized gay marriages… I think a bit of skepticism is fair at a time like this: is he simply trying to court the gay vote? Or has he actually come around to supporting equality for us? Only time will tell.
–Sassafras Lowrey
Filed under: queer news | Tagged: ban, california, gay, law, legislation, marriage, schwarzenegger
