Schwarzenegger tells backers of gay marriage: Don't give up
The governor expressed hope that Proposition 8 would be overturned as protesters continued to march outside churches across California.
Reporting from Sacramento and Pasadena — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today expressed hope that the California Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage. He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who have already married would not be affected by the initiative.
"It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end," Schwarzenegger said in an interview on CNN this morning. "I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area."
With his favorable comments toward gay marriage, the governor's thinking appears to have evolved on the issue.
In past statements, he has said he personally believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. Yet he has also said he would not care if same-sex marriage were legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be determined by the voters or the courts.
Following that position, he publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Today, Schwarzenegger urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."
The governor's comments came as protesters took to the streets for a fifth day in a row, sometimes marching to Catholic and Mormon churches that supported passage of the ballot measure with public pronouncements and campaign donations.
Hundreds of protesters gathered down the hills from Saddleback Church, an evangelical mega-church in the Orange County city of Lake Forest, to speak out against Proposition 8. As several thousand congregants attended services inside the church, passing motorists nearby beeped horns in support to demonstrators waving placards that read, "Equal Rights" and "You Cannot Vote Away Civil Rights." The protesters had disbursed by early afternoon.
In Los Angeles, 75 protesters showed up to a demonstration at Lincoln Park on the city's Eastside. They were outnumbered by police, soccer players and children enjoying the park. But organizers called their Lincoln Heights event a triumph, saying the largely Latino community had seen very few protests over Proposition 8.
