UNDAUNTED LENO REVS UP MARRIAGE ISSUE: From the San Francisco Chronicle

Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, San Francisco state Assemblyman Mark Leno will bring the fight for same-sex marriage back into the spotlight, making it the first order of business when the Legislature reconvenes next month.

Leno, who is gay, is calling for the state to change its definition of marriage from a contract "between a man and a woman" to a contract "between two persons."

In other words, legalize same-sex marriage.

Considering the blowback from Tuesday's national election -- and the perception among prominent Democrats such as U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein that same-sex marriage hurt them at the polls -- one might think revving up the marriage issue so soon would be the last thing on Democratic legislators' minds. But Leno, who put his bill on hold until after the election, said he has already gotten the committed support of not only Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuez but about 30 other legislators and a who's who of statewide Democratic officeholders including Treasurer Phil Angelides, Controller Steve Westly and Secretary of State Kevin Shelley.

"So we are definitely moving ahead," Leno said. "In fact, the speaker is a co-author, which means it will be given a top priority."

Maybe -- but a good deal of that support was pledged before Tuesday's election, which showed that many people who voted to return President Bush to the White House did so because "moral values" were important to them. ...

"I looked at the maps," Leno said. "John Kerry did just as well in the states that had gay marriage bans on the ballot as Al Gore did four years ago. It wasn't a surprise in any way."

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posted by Eve at 10:11 PM VOTE

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