June 3, 2005
VICTORY FOR MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA!
AB 19 Defeated on the Floor
Thanks! You made the difference!
California defenders of marriage scored a major and nationally-significant victory Thursday night when AB 19, the anti-marriage bill, was defeated on the floor of the Assembly. The bill had been defeated on the floor twice and while supporters wanted to bring it up a third time, the Assembly leadership decided there was not enough time to consider it again.
Below is the final tally on the second vote. Take note that on the final vote three Assembly members changed their vote from ”abstaining” on the first vote to a ”yes” (Bermudez, Chavez and Torrico).
The bill was unconstitutional (under the California Constitution) because it attempted to reverse legislatively the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman that a solid majority of Californians voted for in adopting Proposition 22 in 2000.
This attack on traditional marriage was being closely watched by pro-marriage activists across the country and even abroad because of its symbolic significance. Regardless of whether it might have ultimately been found unconstitutional, if it had passed, it would have marked the first time a legislative body in the United States approved same-sex marriage. All other efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, such as in Massachusetts, have been the result of the rulings by activist judges.
United Families California has been actively opposing AB 19 since the beginning of the legislative session. State Chapter representatives testified in opposition to it before the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee in April 26 and lobbied Assembly members in Sacramento in addition to organizing grassroots pressure. Everyone who helped should take pride in knowing that we scored a significant victory for marriage in California and nationally.
However, it is clear that the job of defending marriage in California has just begun. The way so many in the Assembly were willing to arrogantly ignore Proposition 22 on this vote, as well as the recent ruling by a San Francisco judge that prohibiting same-sex marriage violates the state constitution, are compelling evidence that marriage is still threatened in California. It is now clear that the only certain way to protect marriage is to pass a state constitutional amendment just as 18 other states already have done.
Two state constitutional amendments are being prepared and United Families California will be taking an active role in helping to amend the constitution to protect marriage. We will keep you informed on this and other important developments.
For now, however, all of you who helped defeat AB 19 should accept the well deserved thanks of everyone concerned about defending marriage here in California and across the country!
Well done!
Final Vote of AB 19
| Ayes – 37 Democrats |
| Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, De La Torre, Evans, Frommer, Goldberg, Hancock, Jones, Karnette, Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Montanez, Mullin, Nation, Nava, Nunez, Oropeza, Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana, Torrico, Wolk, Yee. |
| NOES – 31 Republicans and 5 Democrats | Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Benoit, Blakeslee, Bogh, Cogdill, Daucher, De Vore, Emmerson, Garcia, Harman, Haynes, Horton (Shirley), Houston, Huff, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie, Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi, Niello, Parra, Plescia, Runner, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Vargas, Villines, Walters, Wyland. |
| ABSTAIN – 6 Democrats and 1 Republican |
| Dymally, Gordon (absent due to illness), Horton (Jerome), Negrete McLeod, Richman, Salinas, Umberg. |
Please forward this alert on to others!
United Families California • PO Box 7653 • La Verne, CA 91750-9998