AB 43 another attempt to flout will of people

Contact: Karen England, Executive Director, Capitol Resource Institute, 916-212-5607

SACRAMENTO, April 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- The California legislature once again flouted the will of the people by passing a homosexual marriage bill from the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Passed on a party line vote, AB 43 would allow "gender neutral" marriage in California. This directly contradicts the people's will in passing Proposition 22, which clearly stated marriage in California is between one man and one woman.

"Yet again the California legislature has shown that it will arrogantly ignore the will of the people," stated Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute. "Even though the vast majority of citizens oppose homosexual marriage, radical activists continue to push their agenda."

CRI's Legislative Liaison Meredith Turney commented, "The people have decided this issue with the passage of Proposition 22. The governor has made clear, by his previous veto, that he will honor the people's decision. And yet agenda-driven legislators have decided that they will override the wishes of Californians."

"61% of California voters believe that traditional marriage is so important that we must protect it," continued England. "Governor Schwarzenegger, regardless of his personal beliefs, has committed to honor the people's vote and already vetoed a previous homosexual marriage bill. So why are radical legislators wasting taxpayer money and time by once again pushing an issue clearly decided by the people? The answer is obvious: they will push their extreme agenda until they get their way."

"The author of this bill, Assemblyman Mark Leno, is attempting to obfuscate the issue by claiming, through technical legal arguments, that Proposition 22 only applies to out-of-state homosexual marriages," stated Turney. "This argument is completely nonsensical. If the people of California opposed homosexual marriages in other states, why would they at the same time approve them within the state? It is misleading and disingenuous to argue that the people of California did not mean to ban homosexual marriage in California when they passed Proposition 22. Voters considered Proposition 22 a straight up-or-down vote on homosexual marriage in California. The passage of Proposition 22 proves that they overwhelmingly support traditional marriage."