By a vote of 41-35, the California Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments to
AB 849, Assemblyman Mark Leno's (D-San Francisco) marriage equality bill.
The bill now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We finally get to see whether Arnold stands with all the "people" or with the bigoted Republican Party that got him elected.
Update:The Chronicle has the story. Quotes below the fold...
"Do what we know is in our hearts," said the bill's sponsor, San Francisco Democrat Mark Leno. "Make sure all California families will have the same protection under the law."
Leno's bill had failed in the Assembly by four votes in June, but he was confident he could get it through on a second try after the Senate approved a same-sex marriage bill last week.
Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, called bans on gay marriage "the last frontier of bigotry and discrimination, and it's time we put an end to it."
Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who abstained when another gay marriage bill fell four votes short in June, said he was concerned about what his three children would think of him if he didn't join those "who sought to take a leadership role in terms of tolerance, equality and fairness."
Score one for the good guys (and gals!). Now the eye of history passes its gaze over the governor of California. Sign the bill, Arnold!