Mark Leno Leads, Gov. Schwarzenegger Cowers

And so it goes. Last night in California, after approval by the state Senate last week, the state Assembly approved legislation giving gay and lesbian people the right to marry - the first state legislature to do so of its own accord.

The Religious Freedom and Marriage Protection Bill (AB849) does not require any religious organization to recognize or perform marriages for same-sex couples. The bill makes the law defining marriage gender-neutral. California state law did not place gender into the marriage code until 1977.

Now it is up to Governor Schwarzenegger to make this legislation law by signing the bill. The Governor has sent mixed signals as to his intent.

"The governor believes that the people spoke when they voted in Proposition 22,'' which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, Margita Thompson (Schwarzenegger's press secretary) said. "It's now before the courts, which is where the governor believes it belongs. He will uphold whatever the court decides.''

[update] Schwarzenegger says he believes in equality under the law for gays but then vetos bill for personal political gain. How courageous of him.

Nevertheless, the moment is powerful and important in the longer view as our struggle towards equality under the law continues to gain allies and advocates. Another step has been taken. Accounts from various leaders and witnesses follow:

There were loud cheers by gay-rights activists in the Assembly gallery as lawmakers voted 41-35 to approve the bill and send it to the governor.

The bill's supporters compared the legislation to earlier civil rights campaigns, including efforts to eradicate slavery and give women the right to vote.

"California shouldn't discriminate in providing the rights and responsibilities of civil marriages based on the sex of one partner,'' state Senator Deborah Ortiz said in a statement prior to the vote. ``Nor should the state ignore the changing dynamics of society and of the family.''

"This is the most important civil rights issue of the day,'' said Assembly Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat and the author of the bill.

"Do what we know is in our hearts," said Leno. "Make sure all California families will have the same protection under the law."

Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz called bans on gay marriage "the last frontier of bigotry and discrimination, and it's time we put an end to it."

Tom Umberg elicited applause and whoops in the otherwise hushed chamber when he described why he had changed his mind to vote aye and approve the bill. He said he had been "cajoled, been harassed, been harangued and been threatened" by friends over the issue. This is one of those times when history looks upon us to see where we are," Umberg said. "Ten years from now, there are a handful of issues that history will record where we stood, and this is one of those issues. History will record whether we pushed a bit, took the lead to encourage tolerance, to encourage equality to encourage fairness," he said. "The constituency I'm concerned about is a very small one," said Umberg, "and that's the constituency of my three children, should they decide to look back on my record … and reflect on where I was when we could make a difference."

"There are moments in the history of any movement when the corner is turned," said Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group. "This is it. This is the tipping point."

"As the debate today shows, love conquers fear, principle conquers politics and equality conquers injustice, and the governor can now secure his legacy as a true leader by signing this bill," Kors said.

"Leadership is doing what's right even when it's not popular,'' said Assemblyman Lloyd Levine. The Van Nuys Democrat said gay marriage is a civil rights matter.