Calif. bill to legalize gay marriage dies

http://sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/2449799p-10764477c.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A bill to legalize gay marriage in California died Thursday after it failed to gain the simple majority needed to pass the state Assembly.
In the second and final time in two days before the 80-member house, the tally was four votes shy of a majority.

Nearly a quarter of majority Democrats either joined Republicans in opposing the bill or chose not to take a stand on the hot-button topic, now headed for likely showdowns in the state's courts and at the ballot box.

"Voting for this bill may erode the advances we have made," said Gloria Negrete McLeod, a Democrat who abstained despite a previous record that gay rights advocates considered friendly to their cause. "It's a shame we get into these things where we become so politicized and polarized."

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/02/MNhowtheyvoted02.DTL
How the Assembly voted on same-sex marriage

I don't know which is worse: The right-wing extremists who voted against this, or the Democrats who knew better but were afraid to take a stand. I'm a heterosexual man, and I think the way our country treats gays and lesbians is disgraceful! This issue really bothers me. I'm going to make a donation tonight, and I think all Californians reading this should do the same:

www.eqca.org

I will check it out and make a donation. This issue really pisses me off too, as a Californian.

I will never ever understand the argument that letting people of the same sex marry is a threat to "the institution of marriage". I just can't believe that we can't evolve past this way of thinking.