Schwarzenegger Vetoes Religious Carve-Out for Gay Marriages

GLBT equality advocates have voiced criticism over Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger having vetoed a measure that would have allowed clerics opposed to marriage equality to decline officiating at same-sex nuptials.

At ScienceBlogs, author and blogger Ed Brayton noted in an Oct. 6 posting that the move drew fire from GLBT equality groups, who pointed out that the bill would not have created a form of marriage inequity but rather helped reassure people of faith that same-sex marriage rights would be a matter of civil contract, and not an incursion into religious matters.

"Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act (SB 906) on the grounds that he opposes insertion of the word 'civil' before the word 'marriage' within the California Family Code, despite the fact that the code already defines marriage as a 'civil contract,' " read an Oct. 1 release from Equality California.

"The Governor incorrectly claims that the legislation, which would have underscored that a state-issued marriage license establishes a civil marriage, undermines the goal of marriage equality because it creates a distinct type of marriage in the state code," the release added. "The Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act would have protected religious institutions from losing their tax-exempt status for refusing to perform any civil marriage."

"The governor's mistaken belief that religious and civil marriages are identical and that religious marriages can be regulated by the state is exactly why this bill is needed," said Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California. "While we appreciate his statement that he is now a strong supporter of marriage equality, we are disappointed that the governor vetoed the bill," Kors added.

"Although the Constitution provides freedom of religion, we must continue to educate Californians so they are not fooled by right-wing organizations who falsely claim that clergy would be forced into performing weddings inconsistent with their faith, such as marriages for same-sex couples," Kors added.

Anti-gay activists had already labeled the measure a "Trojan horse" for restoring marriage rights to GLBT Californians. A 2008 ballot initiative, Proposition 8, stripped then-existing marriage rights from gay and lesbian families. A deeply divisive campaign warned voters that their religious freedoms and their children would be imperiled unless gay families were denied the right to enter into wedlock. The measure passed by a thin margin, but was recently found to be unconstitutional in federal court. An appeal is underway. The case is widely expected eventually to be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's interpretation that the bill would have created a "new class" of marriage was shared by a Catholic group, Catholics for the Common Good, which warned that the measure would have created a means for the return of marriage equality for all California families, reported anti-gay religious web resource LifeSiteNews on Oct. 7.

"All marriages are civil marriages under California law, as is the case in most jurisdictions," LifeSiteNews reported. "The state authorizes religious representatives to officiate marriages on the state's behalf in the context of that religion's wedding ceremonies."

"The state cannot, and never will be, in the business of religious marriages," the bill's sponsor, openly gay State Sen. Mark Leno, said. "The Governor's belief that this bill would have created a separate classification of marriage is misguided."

Anti-gay groups lashed out at Schwarzenegger for reasons of their own. "While we're glad the Governor vetoed SB 906, which would have deceptively aided homosexual 'marriage' legalization on a future ballot, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the great damage he's inflicted upon marriage, the California Constitution, and the voters by refusing to appeal the judicial-activist ruling that struck down Prop. 8," the head of anti-marriage group SaveCalifornia.com, Randy Thomasson, said.