Schwarzenegger vetoes gay marriage bill

San Francisco - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a widely expected move vetoed a bill on Thursday that would have allowed gay couples to marry.
The Republican governor had earlier this month indicated he would veto the bill passed by California's Democrat-led legislature. The bill was the first of its kind approved by a state legislature.

Schwarzenegger said he would leave the contentious issue of same-sex marriage to voters and the courts.

"I do not believe the legislature can reverse an initiative approved by the people of California," he said in a written statement.

"This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue," Schwarzenegger wrote.

"If the ban of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, this bill is not necessary. If the ban is constitutional, this bill is ineffective."

California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez sharply criticised Schwarzenegger's veto.

"History will show that Governor Schwarzenegger had a chance to end the last vestige of legal discrimination in our state," Nunez said in a statement.

"Instead of choosing the way of the future the governor has aligned himself with the enemies of equal rights for all."

California voters approved a ballot measure five years ago defining marriage as between a man and woman, a law San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied in 2004 by issuing city marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Newsom's move sparked a national firestorm and has forced a showdown in state court over California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

California's supreme court invalidated the San Francisco licenses but has left the wider issue of whether a ban on same-sex marriages is constitutional to lower courts.

- REUTERS