June 5, 2007

Assembly Passes Bill Granting Same-Sex Couples the Ability to Marry in California

Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, Authored by Assemblymember Leno and Sponsored by EQCA, Gives all Couples the Protections and Responsibilities of Marriage

SACRAMENTO – The California Assembly on Monday passed AB 43, legislation that would give same-sex couples the ability to marry. Authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would provide all California couples the dignity, legal protections, responsibilities and social support that only come with marriage. The Assembly passed the legislation with a 42-34 vote.

“The California Assembly has once again affirmed that every Californian deserves the opportunity to marry the person he or she loves,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. “Today’s vote shows that support for ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage is growing. The people of California, through their elected representatives, are speaking on this issue and they are coming down on the side of fairness.” 

In 2005, the California Legislature became the first legislative body in the nation to approve a bill that would allow same-sex couples the choice to marry. This year’s bill is all but identical to that landmark legislation, which the Assembly passed with a 41-35 vote, giving the bill the minimum number of votes needed. As was the case in 2005, this year’s bill protects religious freedom by reaffirming that no religious institution would be required to solemnize marriages contrary to its fundamental beliefs.

“The momentum to afford all citizens their fundamental right to marry the person they love grows stronger with today’s pioneering vote,” said Assemblymember Leno. “For the second time in our nation’s history, elected officials of the most populous state in America have embraced the basic human right of all people to marry and raise families as first class citizens under the law.”

Although California allows same-sex couples to register as domestic partners, marriage and domestic partnership remain two separate and unequal institutions. Same-sex couples are not allowed the universal recognition that married couples enjoy, leaving them without essential support systems they may find necessary upon illness or disability, in times of crisis and in older age.

“We have lived with domestic partnerships in California for seven years and we know that they are not a substitute for marriage,” said Kors. “Today’s vote demonstrates that the Legislature recognizes this unjustifiable inequity, and we applaud their determination to end it. Marriage is one of life’s significant and universally understood progressions that all people should have the ability to experience if they so desire.”

Some of the nation’s top scientific and health organizations have presented peer-reviewed literature and consensus statements supporting the end of excluding same-sex couples from marriage because it hurts lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families. Health experts and medical organizations agree that treating a certain group of people differently creates social isolation and victimization, perpetuating negative stereotypes and alienating the group from health, family and social support systems. While providing important benefits, domestic partnerships perpetuate this exclusion and its negative consequences. 

AB 43 is co-authored by 28 Assemblymembers and 14 Senators, including Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Sen. President Pro Tempore Don Perata. A broad coalition of more than 250 civil rights organizations and leaders support the measure, including the NAACP California State Conference, United Farm Workers, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Chinese for Affirmative Action, California Teachers Association, ACLU, California Nurses Association, Anti-Defamation League, California National Organization for Women, and California Church Impact, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.