Now that we've spent a few days screaming about Katrina and New Orleans, what say we go ahead and get back to screaming about the same-old-same-old, eh?
Quote:
California's Senate has voted to allow gay marriage, making it the first legislative body in the nation to back the idea and setting off a frantic scramble for votes in the Assembly. The 21-15 vote Thursday handed gay rights advocates in the country's most populous state a historic victory. Massachusetts issued marriage licenses to gays and lesbians only after court rulings.
"We are so very close," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat who wrote the bill. "It would be very disappointing for this body not to be able to stand up for civil rights."
Leno said he planned to bring up the bill Tuesday and predicted that the Senate vote would help sway his undecided colleagues. In June, the Assembly rejected his bill by four votes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office had no comment Thursday on how the governor would respond if the bill reached his desk, spokeswoman Margita Thompson said.
Several senators equated the struggle for gay marriage to the civil rights movements. They said arguments against the bill were similar to arguments in supporting slavery and opposing interracial marriage.
"This is probably the most profound civil rights movement of our generation, without a doubt," said Sen. Jackie Speier, a Democrat who supported the bill.
Sen. Sheila Kuehl, one of six gay members of the Legislature, told the chamber that gay couples have the same hopes for their relationships as heterosexual couples.
"Gay and lesbian people fall in love. We settle down. We commit our lives to one another. We raise our children. We protect them. We try to be good citizens," said Kuehl, a Democrat. "This is a bill whose time has come."
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050902/...iage&printer=1