CALIF. SSM BILL HEADED FOR DEFEAT AMID "SOARING" RHETORIC: From the San Francisco Chronicle

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage appeared headed for defeat in the state Assembly late Wednesday after a historic, at times personal debate that touched on themes of personal liberty and societal values.

The bill, AB19 by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, was failing 35- 37 -- six votes shy of a needed majority. Eight lawmakers, all of them Democrats, including Northern California legislators Alberto Torrico of Fremont and Simon Salinas of Salinas, abstained, and five Democrats from the Central Valley and San Diego voted against the measure. ...

The vote marked the first time a state legislative body had voted on whether to give marriage licenses to gays and lesbians, and comes amid a national political climate in which gay marriage has proved a defining issue for elected officials from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to President Bush. ...

But the debate revealed only a tiny middle ground for Leno to mine. Instead, the hour of short speeches by members of both parties reflected the deep divisions on the issue. With same-sex marriage wending its way through state courts -- and the federal judiciary yet to firmly weigh in on the issue -- the Assembly revealed itself Wednesday as a microcosm of a socially polarized society, unable to agree on everything from the definition of marriage to the role of government should play in defining it.

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posted by Eve at 3:36 PM VOTE

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