California Assembly Passes Gay Marriage

The State Senate passed the bill Thursday. Today, the Assembly passed the bill by one vote, despite having rejected the bill by four votes earlier this year. This is big. This is the first time a state has legalized gay marriage without a court order. If Gov. Schwarzenegger can find it in his heart to sign the bill, the largest state in the union will have just legalized gay marriage. Last year on Leno, Schwarzenegger said it would be "fine with me" if the legislature legalized gay marriage.

The governor's veto will not be the final hurdle. A ballot initiative is collecting signatures that would permanently enshrine a discriminatory ban in the state constitution that would prohibit gay marriage and void the state's domestic partner legislation. But polls offer gays some signs of hope. A poll of California voters by the Public Policy Institute shows 46% for and 46% against gay marriage there.