Schwarzenegger says he would fight efforts to ban gay marriage

By ALLISON HOFFMAN - Associated Press Writer
Published 6:39 pm PDT Friday, April 11, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he would fight an initiative to amend the California Constitution to ban gay marriage if it qualifies for the November ballot.
Schwarzenegger said he was confident that such an amendment, which already are on the books in 26 other states, would never pass in California and called it a "waste of time."
"I will always be there to fight against that," Schwarzenegger said, prompting loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 200 people at the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest gay Republican group.
The Austrian-born governor immediately cracked that he wished activists would instead focus on passing an amendment to allow naturalized citizens to run for president.
A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, Julie Soderlund, said it was the first time the governor publicly stated opposition to the measure, though he has held the view for "some time."
"He has said he supports the will of the people and would enforce the rule of the court but does not support an initiative to change the Constitution," she said.
Schwarzenegger made his remarks during a brief question-and-answer session with Log Cabin's president, Patrick Sammon, who asked the governor about his position on two anti-gay marriage measures proposed by competing groups in California. Besides limiting marriage to heterosexuals, one measure would revoke the spousal rights and tax benefits currently extended to same-sex couples under state laws.
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