California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced he will veto the same-sex marriage legislation recently approved by the California legislature. Based on a California referendum in 2000, which passed a proposition defining marriage as between a man and a woman, Schwarzenegger says the issue should be decided by the courts or the voters, not by legislation. Let’s hope that LGBT and LGBT-friendly voters turn out in droves for any new referendum, and that the California judiciary views civil rights as fairly as the Massachusetts one did.
Speaking of Massachusetts, though, same-sex marriage opponents there have gained some ground in a ruling by the Attorney General, Thomas F. Reilly, who said a proposed 2008 ballot question on banning same-sex marriage would be constitutional. Reilly reportedly supports same-sex marriage personally, and is just interpreting the law as it stands; opponents claim he is ignoring a prohibition in the state constitution against using ballot questions to overturn judicial rulings.
No word yet from Miss Manners as to whether one should return the china if one’s marriage is downgraded to a civil union.