Senate Approves Gay Marriage

The California State Senate adopted a bill allowing for gay marriage ten minutes before noon today—the first statewide legislative body in the country to adopt such a bill. After a close 21-15 vote the measure, AB 849, sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, now moves back to the Assembly where a similar measure was defeated earlier this year. It was an emotional debate on the Senate floor, where Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth argued that a “higher power” opposed the bill, and nearly every Democrat in the chamber who supported the measure rose in support. Leno has promised to bring the bill to a vote on the Assembly floor next week—win or lose. There, a similar bill died on the Assembly floor in June with 37 votes, four short of passage. One of those “short” votes was from an absent co-author, putting the bill three votes short heading into the Assembly next week. In an impromptu press conference Leno said he may already have votes number 39 and 40, though the situation remains in flux. Leno said he expected the bill would be on the floor next Tuesday, where he hopes “the power of success will give us the necessary momentum.’