[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

What a difference eight years can make.Despite the overwhelming passage of Proposition 22 in 2000 (a statute,now unconstitutional, deftining marriage as between a man and a woman),a 51 percent majority of California voters are now rejecting thisyear's Proposition 8, which would amend the state's constitutionagainst gay marriage, according to the Sacramento Bee. Times they are achangin'.One factor, according to the Field Poll, is that evenconservatives tend to be reluctant to change the constitution, whichmakes sense.

Governor Schwarzenegger met with legislative leaders over the budget this week, but Speaker Karen Bass says there won't be a vote anytime soon,according to the Bee, and Arnold's controversial "roll the dice onlottery revenue" schemes may be embraced by ther GOP, but their firstpriority is unspecified spending cuts.

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[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The county clerk offices are packed today as gay and lesbian couples tie the knot. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "a general air of celebration filled the air."

The LA Times reports that most couples are trying to keep their ceremonies low-key."Images from gay weddings, said Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of theLos Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, could be used by opponents in acampaign designed to persuade California voters that gays and lesbiansshould not have the right to marry."

Marc Stern wrings his hands and wonders if gay rights will trod upon religious freedom to bash homosexuals. Goodness me!

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Image courtesy SFGate.com

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Vivian Kahn

Much of the recent press coverage on Proposition 98 has focused on the effect this proposed constitutional amendment would have on renters. Homeowners who ignore this ballot measure because they think it has nothing to do with them do so at their own peril because this devious initiative would amend the California Constitution in ways that could, in fact, have sweeping impacts on all Californians.

The proponents of Proposition 98 advertise the measure as an effort to control public agency use of eminent domain because they know that California voters would likely support a measure to protect homeowners from having government take their property to use it for private development. They also acknowledge that passage of Prop 98 would end rent control (although they dismiss concerns about immediate impacts on renters claiming that nothing happens until tenants vacate their units). In fact, the same section of Prop. 98 that could undermine renter protections such as “just cause eviction” regulations would also threaten a wide range of land use and environmental regulations and programs.

by Assemblymember_Levine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

It's becoming predictable every election season. California's anti-gay groups are attempting to put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the November ballot. They presume Californians will agree with them and flock to the polls, erasing years of progress.

My hope is this November California voters will be galvanized and electrified by a sense of hope for the future, not limiting it. That's why I am STRONGLY supporting the "Decline to Sign" campaign fighting to keep the same-sex marriage initiative off the ballot. Whether or not they succeed, California voters will be put on notice that this potential ban would write discrimination into the state's Constitution.

It's certainly not lost on most voters that the anti-gay marriage initiative is also a shameless tactic used by Republicans before to get voters to the polls. Recently, Arizona voters saw they were being played for fools by the Republicans and defeated a similar same-sex marriage ban.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It’s becoming predictable every election season. California’s anti-gay groups are attempting to put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the November ballot. They presume Californians will agree with them and flock to the polls, erasing years of progress.
 
My hope is this November California voters will be galvanized and electrified by a sense of hope for the future, not limiting it. That’s why I am STRONGLY supporting the "Decline to Sign" campaign fighting to keep the same-sex marriage initiative off the ballot. Whether or not they succeed, California voters will be put on notice that this potential ban would write discrimination into the state’s Constitution.
 
It’s certainly not lost on most voters that the anti-gay marriage initiative is also a shameless tactic used by Republicans before to get voters to the polls. Recently, Arizona voters saw they were being played for fools by the Republicans and defeated a similar same-sex marriage ban.

There's more...

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

At the California State Democratic Convention in San Jose today, the political director of Planned Parenthood of California gave warning that two wealthy anti-choice donors plan, for the third time, to place a proposition on the ballot that would require parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. California voters have twice rejected the proposition, because it can put teenagers' lives at risk.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Today’s symbolic passing of the torch at the White House from President Bush to Republican presidential nominee John McCain couldn’t be better news for California Democrats.
 
Talk about timing -- just as McCain himself is vowing to "compete in California," he’s embracing the blessing of one of the most unpopular Presidents in history, a politician whose disapproval rating in California is well over 70 percent. Even more confounding, McCain’s plan to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years, his steadfast opposition to abortion rights, his vote against the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and other far-right positions offer California voters nothing more than a third Bush term. That doesn’t seem to be a winning strategy in the Golden State.
 
Then again, McCain’s advisors appear to be rosy-eyed enough to consider California a "purple state." Really? A "purple state"?

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Image courtesy CNN.