California Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill

For the first time in the US, a state legislative body, the California State Senate, has passed a bill that would legalize gay marriage without prompting from the courts. This is a great first step, but for gay marriage to be a reality in California, there are still a number of hurdles. The Assembly would have to pass the bill, and they rejected it earlier this year. Gov. Schwarznegger would have to sign the bill, and he's sent mixed signals about his willingness to do so. And there's an initiative likely to be on the ballot in 2006 that would ban gay marriage and void the state's domestic partner legislation. I suppose I'm cautiously hopeful.