Sept. 7th Update: The marriage equality bill has yet to reach the Governor’s desk, but his press secretary said that he will veto it "out of respect for the will of the people" (ie, Proposition 22, the initiative from the year 2000 that banned same-sex marriage). Equality California hopes that Schwarzenegger will reconsider the veto before he signs it, and says, "One man cannot terminate a civil rights movement." Ways to contact the Governor

On September 1st, the California State Senate passed gender-neutral marriage legislation AB 849 by a 21-15 vote. The law was written by Equality California and was introduced by Mark Leno. Read more On September 6th, the state Assembly passed the legislation by one vote and sent it on to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature. Equality California statement . The Governor now has until October 6th to sign or veto the bill, or he can let it go into effect without his signature. The Governor has said in the past that he thought that the issue of same-sex marriage should be left to the courts, so it is not clear if he will sign the bill into law.

The bill would "enact the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would provide that marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between 2 persons." Read more

California is now the first and only state in the nation where the legislature has voted to end marriage discrimination. Massachusetts is currently the only state that grants civil marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This was the result of a decision by the state's highest court. Vermont and Connecticut provide civil unions for same-sex couples, and California and New Jersey presently offer domestic partnerships. This victory in California, the state with the largest numbers of same-sex couples in the country, is anticipated to have a positive influence on the future of marriage equality nationwide.