As many of you will remember California passed a bill via the legislature that would have created full marriage equality for same-sex couples. This bill was AB 849 (click here for past coverage by us). AB 849 passed in both chambers, yet Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoed the bill.

Equality California, California's largest GLBT advocacy organization, had a record 14 pro-equality bills passed this year. A truly amazing amount of fantastic legislation and some very momentous milestones for California's GLBT community.

Assemblymember Mark Leno, in conjunction with Equality California will be introducing the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act at the start of the 2007-2008 session. This bill is identical to AB 849 from the last go around.

So why now? Schwarzenegger vetoed it last time, so why would this time be any different? Well there are a few reasons. The first and probably largest factor is that Schwarzenegger will not be seeking re-election. Second, sources tell us that in a meeting between gay families, Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver, Shriver leaned to Arnold and urged him to support this legislation with some very, very encouraging words. Third, California's voters sent the state's most GLBT-friendly legislature in the state's history to be sworn in on December 4th, 2006.

California has everything going in their favor at this point-except one. A constitutional amendment that has been proposed for the 2008 ballot.

So stay tuned and we will keep you up-to-date as any news comes our way. 2007 could prove to trump 2006 when it comes to pro-equality milestones in California.

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