Following an historic vote in the California legislature in which members voted to allow same-sex marriage, Schwarzenegger dampened our spirits with a veto of the marriage bill. So, while California becomes the first state to claim a legislative origin to pass a law allowing gay marriage, history asks them to wait to join Masschusetts as the second state to allow gay marriage.
The Washington Post offered a succint overview on this veto in its print edition on September 30.
The Governator claimed that his veto was meant to reflect the will of the people, per the result of a previous proposition vote, which indicated that a majority of California denizens did not support gay marriage at the time of the vote.
It seems more likely that Schwarzenegger wanted only to shore up his conservative base and stop his approval rating decline even though he has voted against his former industry --Hollywood, which generally has a much more progressive-minded stance on this issue -- and, perhaps, his own beliefs.
I can't help but ask myself: what would the possibilities have been for him to increase his approval ratings by supporting this law? Aren't there more GLBT friends and family members who would have been appreciative of his history-making stance? Wouldn't he have enjoyed a stronger place in history to have taken a perceived "risk" as a leader and chosen to lead the country in a change that's sure to come?
How can one ever go wrong saying; "Yes, you are an American and you deserve equal rights."
C'mon, Governor Schwarzenegger, don't just ride the wave once you're sure you can catch it. Paddle out there and lead the way for everyone else.
This country is moving backwards. For a nation to say that we believe in equal rights and that this is one of the greatest countries in the world, it is sad that people consistently have to fight for equal rights. Women, Blacks, and others have paved the way for our congress people to stop allowing discrimnation to occur. Intstead they are choosing to talk out of both sides of their mouths. I am ashamed and embarrassed to have some congress people represent the United States. It is time the people start looking at their actions and inactions and start fighting for rights of equality to all human beings.
-- Posted by: Samuel N. Jones at October 4, 2005 04:57 PM