SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ABP) — California legislators narrowly defeated a bill June 2 that would have made that state the first in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage legislatively.
The 37-36 vote in favor of the bill, although a narrow majority, was still four votes short of the 41 needed for passage in the California Assembly. While all of the chamber's minority Republicans voted against the bill, a handful of Democrats either voted against it or abstained.
Last year, Massachusetts became the first jurisdiction in the United States with legalized same-sex marriage. But that action was the result of a 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that said the commonwealth's policy of marrying only heterosexual couples violated the Massachusetts Constitution.
California courts are considering a similar lawsuit. The state's voters approved an initiative in 2000 that explicitly bans gay marriage.
Gay-rights advocates promised not to give up in California, generally considered one of the nation's most socially liberal states.
“We will continue to fight for equal rights and responsibilities for all California families,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, in a June 3 statement. “While last night's vote was disappointing, we know that the strongest families are those with the strongest protections, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families.”
And while opponents of same-sex marriage counted the vote a surprising victory, they also warned that more battles lie in the future.
“We've avoided this particular bullet, but more attacks on marriage are coming from judges in San Francisco,” said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, in a press release. Thomasson's group has been the main one fighting gay marriage in the state.
He continued: “The people of California are learning that to keep everything about marriage for a man and a woman, they absolutely must pass a true-blue state constitutional amendment to override the politicians and judges who have such blatant disregard for marriage and the voters.”