Same-Sex Marriage Bill Vetoed

Holding to his pledge, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage in California.

The Republican governor rejected the measure "because I do not believe the Legislature can reverse an initiative approved by the people of California," he said in his veto message. Schwarzenegger was referring to Proposition 22, an initiative passed in 2000 that defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Schwarzenegger said the courts still must determine if banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

"This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue," Schwarzenegger wrote. "If the ban of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, this bill is not necessary. If the ban is constitutional, this bill is ineffective."

Assemblyman Mark Leno, the San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill, said he was disappointed. Leno's bill was the first legalizing same-sex marriage to pass any legislature in the nation, without being under a court order.

"The governor has failed his test of leadership and has missed a historic opportunity to stand up for the basic civil rights of all Californians," Leno said. "He cannot claim to support fair and equal protection for same-sex couples and veto the very bill that would have provided it to them."