Assemblymembers Leno and Levine Celebrate Marriage Equality Gains in California in this Week’s Democratic Weekly Radio Address

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In this week’s Democratic weekly radio address, Assemblymembers Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Lloyd Levine (D-Woodland Hills) explain why the California Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision is an important civil rights victory that all Californians can celebrate.

You may listen in English or Spanish or read the transcript below.

Hello, this is Assemblyman Mark Leno.

Last week, the California Supreme Court said that denying marriage licenses to lesbian and gay couples is unconstitutional.

I applaud and strongly support our state’s highest court in their decision supporting equal treatment of every Californian under the law.

In their historic ruling, the Justices underscored what all human beings have in common, regardless of their sexual orientation -- and that is the desire to love another human being in an intimate and committed fashion.

I along with my colleagues have worked to pass marriage equality legislation twice in the pass several years, only to see it vetoed.

We have seen lesbian and gay couples in California and across the country long struggle without the benefits and protections of marriage equality.

As such, Chief Justice Ronald George based the majority opinion on fundamental human dignity.

As a central institution of our society, marriage affords couples recognition and validation.

The Chief Justice said our Constitution “properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual.”

As with many civil rights struggles of the past, this fight is far from over.

The Democratic Party today calls for an end to discrimination in all forms, believing in and acting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s proverb: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.