California Update

There were a few items in the news over the last several days in California relating to marriage and sexual orientation.

Maura Dolan at the Los Angeles Times reports that California Chief Justice Ronald M. George is unhappy with the state’s initiative process – no doubt because the people overruled him when they adopted the California Marriage Amendment.

The blog version of this story is here, complete with comments.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that recognizes as domestic partnerships licensed brideless and groomless “marriages” which began elsewhere during the window in which California was issuing neutered marriage licenses. This is the Associated Press story and this is the one from the UPI, which is has more clarity.

However, in a signing message, Schwarzenegger said California law will not recognize such unions as marriage, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday. Rather, he said the state will "provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state."

[Continued after the jump.]

The UPI story also mentions the Governor signing into law the Harvey Milk Day legislation. So now school kids will be taught that Milk was important because he was attracted to other men, and was open about it, and still got elected to office.

The article goes on to say...

The announcement came on the same day that the San Jose Mercury News reported a California judge will consider a motion from Proposition 8 backers to halt a trial and end efforts to overturn a law against gay marriage. Jim Campbell, a staff attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, said the case to overturn Proposition 8 can be dismissed on legal grounds without a trial, the newspaper said.

That would be good.

The Los Angeles Times editorial board weighed in on Schwarzenegger’s bill signings.

On his signing of the Harvey Milk Day bill, they write...

Though May 22 won't be a state holiday, and schools and government offices will remain open, the bill encourages public schools to commemorate the birthday of Milk, a gay San Francisco supervisor who was gunned down in 1978.

Yes, he was gunned down over a personnel dispute.

By taking a grown-up political fight to schoolchildren, Leno's bill will only add to the hysteria surrounding gay rights, proving to conservatives that proponents really are eager to teach homosexuality in the schools. Schools have an obligation to teach history, but they shouldn't be used as a platform for a political agenda. Although Milk deserves recognition as a gay-rights pioneer, there are more appropriate ways to honor him.

Call me cynical, but I think their real concern is that this will make repealing the California Marriage Amendment at the ballot more difficult. Otherwise, I mostly agree with that paragraph.

I wonder what would happen if some schools taught that Harvey Milk was a heterosexual who opposed the neutering of marriage? If "marriage" can be redefined, why can't we make up our own definition of "Harvey Milk"?

I wrote about the events of Columbus Day weekend in Washington, D.C. over at my namesake blog.