by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

We all knew this was inevitable, but now it's official: the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage will appear on the November ballot.

An initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in California has qualified for the November ballot, the Secretary of State announced Monday.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough names for it to be put to voters.

The measure, known as the California Marriage Protection Act, would amend the state constitution to "provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

If approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4, the amendment would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. It is similar to gay marriage bans that have been adopted in 26 other states.

OK, fine.  Bring it on.  We're going to win this thing.  And the benefit will rebound on those Democrats who believe in equality and justice.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has vowedto oppose conservative attempts to once again get an initiative on theballot to constitutionally ban gay marriage in California, reportsthe Sac Bee. In keeping with his previous vetos of such a ban, hestated, “Well, first of all, I think that it will never happen inCalifornia because I think that California people are much furtheralong on that issue, and number two, I will always be there to fightagainst that because it will never happen.”

On the other hand, as Calitics notes, Arnold was speaking in front of the Log Cabin Republicans,a gay Republican group.  The governor still has a long way to go beforeproving his credentials on the issue, as he’s also twice vetoed billsthat would legalize gay marriage.

It’s official: the salmon season has been canceled,packing a wallop to Califonia’s $150-million commercial salmonbusiness, reports the LA Times. Federal regulators adopted a ban onsalmon fishing this year due to concern over the markedly decreasedsalmon population.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger now faces a test on how serious he is about global warming, according to the Sacramento Bee. If Arnold does not find a reliablerevenue source for the state's new emissions standards, it essentiallybecomes an unfunded mandate. And all of the magazine covers andspeeches and carbon-offsets will not make the Governor anenvironmentalist unless he gets real about the cost.

The fight over gay marriage in California has reached the state Supreme Court, a good sign for advocates,  the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Butwith rapid shifts in public opinion toward greater gay rights, thecourt of public opinion may be the best approach to this delicate issue.

Democratic colleagues and friends—and even some Republicans—are singing the praises of Speaker-elect Karen Bass, who has devoted her political life to often-ignored causes such asfoster care, the Los Angeles Times reports. Bass is ready to lead—andit's a shame she only has two years to do the job before being termedout.

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Photo courtesy of commondreams