California lawmakers decry gay wedding ban

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- California lawmakers say their resolutions supporting the overthrow of a ban on same-sex marriages are about civil rights rather than politics.

The resolutions introduced in the state Senate and Assembly have no legal authority, but proponents say they felt moved to make a statement in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 last month.

"Politics, when it comes to most issues you deal with, is about compromise. But when it comes to civil rights we give no ground," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said.

Prop 8 would amend the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples, ending a brief period in which it was legal for same-sex couples to tie the knot in California.

The San Francisco Chronicle said Wednesday while Prop 8 is being challenged in court on a technical ground, Steinberg and other backers of the resolutions say Prop 8 alters the underlying principles of the state Constitution and improperly takes away rights from a specific group of people.