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Loading ...Schwarzenegger hopes Calif Supreme Court overturns anti-gay amendment
11.10.2008 9:40am EST
(San Francisco, California) As gays and lesbians demonstrated against the banning of same-sex marriage in California for a fifth day Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he hoped the California Supreme Court would overturn the measure.
Speaking on CNN Sunday, the governor called passage of the constitutional amendment “unfortunate … but it’s not the end.”“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,” Schwarzenegger said.
The governor spoke out against the amendment during the campaign. In April, at the national convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s largest gay Republican group, in San Diego, he said for the first time he opposed the measure, but predicted it would not get voter approval.
The measure succeeded, however, with a slim margin. LGBT rights groups immediately petitioned the California Supreme Court to overturn it on the grounds the measure is invalid, because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone, by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians.
The petition also says that Proposition 8 improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities.
Appearing on CNN, Schwarzenegger urged gays not to give up in the fight for marriage equality.
“They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done,” he said.
That is a marked change from his earlier positions on gay marriage. Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage passed the California legislature twice and each time Schwarzenegger vetoed the bills, saying that the courts, or the people through a plebiscite, should decide the issue.
The California Supreme Court ruled in May that it was unconstitutional to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. Opponents immediately began work on Prop 8.
Supporters of same-sex marriage demonstrated Sunday at a number of churches across the state. Evangelical Christians, the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon Church actively supported passage of Prop 8.
Carrying signs that read “You Cannot Vote Away Civil Rights,” hundreds protested in front of the Saddleback Church, an Orange County mega-church.
In Oakland, demonstrators crowded onto a roadway in front of a Mormon temple, prompting the California Highway Patrol to close off an exit ramp, because they feared some demonstrators could be hit by traffic.
Thousands of others demonstrated against the amendment in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento.
On Saturday, 10,000 supporters of gay marriage took to the streets in Los Angeles. Another 10,000 demonstrated in San Diego.
On Friday, tensions flared at a vigil at Palm Springs City Hall, when a supporter of the gay marriage ban carrying a plastic foam cross clashed with protesters, according to The Desert Sun. The crowd ripped the cross from her hands and stomped on it. Police made no arrests.
About 2,000 people gathered in Long Beach Friday night and there were three arrests. A thousand people also marched Friday in San Francisco.
Daniel…I agree, but I wouldn’t stop there. Any and all churches who want to be politically active from the pulpits need to find another way as well, instead of hiding behind a tax exempt status. Can’t have it both ways, either political activists, or churches…time to choose.
And Wayne…that’s where my heart is as well, with the GLBT community who have been waiting for change their entire lives only to be approaching the end of life and have nothing to show for it in terms fo rights. I have been blessed with patience as part of my nature, but this latest election has chipped away at that a bit. I know it with my knower that change will happen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in the next 4 years, but damn it! It seems we take a step forward and then get rudely shoved onto our asses for daring to take that step. My pacifist nature is about to take a seat and allow the rowdy loud-mouth to be set loose. It’s time to act up! I had the opportunity to protest the southern baptist convention when it was in Nashville a few years ago, and I felt empowered in a way I never felt before. I am ready to go above and beyond…by any means necessary to make this change for us! I want to attend some fabulous gay weddings in the south in my lifetime, and that will take some serious work to turn these minds around.
We need to push for removing tax-exempt status of every religious cult that financed and advocated passage of this hateful, discriminatory proposition. It is illegal for any tax-exempt religious organization publicly advocating and financing propaganda based on lies and misinformation to influence the outcome of legislation. Time for us to go after them right where it hurts, in their pockets. We should form a national movement to combat these haters.
Gays should not be permitted to marry. In fact, I spent $50,000 to ensure they never can.
Joshua Baker
http://www.biocold.com/
biocold@aol.com
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/?appSession=104447203845891&RecordID=46455&PageID=3&PrevPageID=2&cpipage=1&CPIsortType=desc&CPIorderBy=ContributorNameFixed
So you’re a rich bigot, Mr. Baker. You’re still a bigot.
I am personally indifferent about this, the same way that I am really indifferent about many civil rights issues that do not affect me directly, but when something is unjust, it is simply unjust, and injustice must be dealt with directly and harshly (not maintained as it is by rich bigots).
Here is the video link to the CNN interview. It’s a bit more in depth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztLIXvhQ9sE
Baker:
Tactless much?
Im sure that 50,000 wouldve been better spent helping people not hurting people that dont vote on your right to marry.
Baker is also an antagonist…why else be here on this site called 365GAY? Probably a self-hating gay…bless his heart.
It’s truly saddening that the money used to fuel this campaign of hate could have been used for things that actually do improve the lives of children and families.
I guess time will tell if Obama has anything to say about these propositions.
To be honest I’m more interested in seeing if the IRS will exact its pound of flesh from the LDS church for breaking the rules.
Gays should not be permitted to marry. In fact, I spent $50,000 to ensure they never can.
—-
lol. A fool and his money are soon parted. ‘Never’ is a mightly long time. And Straight folks keep having gay babies…
Debra said: My pacifist nature is about to take a seat and allow the rowdy loud-mouth to be set loose.——
Debra, That made me smile. As you can tell by my posts, my rowdy loud mouth busted out months ago. I’m just tired. I really am. I’ve seen too much, screamed too much, lost too many damn friends, and spent way too many years protesting, and voting, and fighting for equality only to see it once again be yanked away.
Why does everyone else get “Change”? Why are we always left out?
Shouldn’t domestic partnerships be included in the Constitution as well then? I mean it IS suppose to be the ‘equal’ to marriage in the state, so it should be in the Constitution as well stating it!
Also, shouldn’t domestic partnerships be taught in schools if marriage is taught in schools?
It’s the equal to marriage for people that can’t marry right? So of course it should be taught then!
Perhaps the Prop 8 people missed this, or perhaps they are ok with their little girls coming home and telling their mommies they can have a domestic partnership with a princess!
Apparently they are ok with this.
The Church of LDS does not appear to have actually donated much money, although they encouraged their members to give millions. Focus on the Family actually sent cash to Yes on 8. Will the IRS bust them? No way. The politicians are too afraid of the religious reich. Check out http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/. It will open your eyes.
After all this time, I am disappointed not to have heard a single thing from Obama or Biden about this. Tens of thousands of people are marching in the streets because their civil rights have been taken away, and the divisiveness between minority groups is growing and becoming alarming, yet the President and Vice-President Elect remain silent! We’ve heard from the Governor, and even Nancy Pelosi on this already, but nothing from the President-Elect team. I encourage people to go to their website and leave a comment to let them know that we’re waiting to hear something from them:
http://www.change.gov
I voted for Obama but all I keep hearing now is this need to “go to the center”. I fear that we are being thrown under the bus already.
Joshua Baker,
It says that your 50K donation was a loan to the yes on prop 8 campaign, what’s up with that?