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Compliance September 7, 2005
CA Legislature Approves Same-Sex Marriages
September 7, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A bill to
recognize same-sex marriages was passed by the California
Legislature this week, after a previous defeat in the
Assembly in June.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Associated Press reports that the bill failed the Assembly by four votes in June. Democrat Mark Leno, who sponsored the bill, felt it would pass on a second try since it was approved by the Senate last week.
The bill, which this time passed 41-35, will now go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has made no comment on it, the AP reports.
California already gives same-sex couples many of the rights and duties of marriage if they register with the state as domestic partners, according to the AP.
The AP noted other states’ legislatures have recognized same-sex marriages, such as:
- In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The nation’s first state-sanctioned, same-sex weddings began taking place in May 2004 (See Massachusetts Court Says Gays Entitled to Marry ).
- After a ruling by Vermont’s Supreme Court, the state started offering civil unions to same-sex couples in 2000.
- Without a court ruling, Connecticut approved civil unions this year (See CT Civil Union Bill Could Affect Employer State Tax Computations ).