SACRAMENTO, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The California Assembly gave final approval Tuesday to a bill legalizing marriage for homosexual couples.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not said whether he will veto the law, which passed by a single vote, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. His office suggested that the issue should be in the hands of the courts or of the people in a referendum.
But the vote is a landmark -- the first time that both houses of a state legislature have voted for gay marriage. Last week, the California Senate became the first legislative body in the country to endorse homosexual marriage.
The bill would make California's laws on marriage gender-neutral. In 2000, voters approved a referendum that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.
"Sixty-two percent of the voters and 52 of 58 counties voted for Proposition 22,'' said Assemblyman Richard Montjoy, R-Monrovia. "What about their will?"
