The California Senate is expected to vote on Assembly Bill 43, the Civil Marriage and Religious Freedom Protection Act, before the current legislative session closes on Friday, Sept. 14. Despite pressure from GLBT Democrats and those in favor of marriage equality, however, the bill will not likely have the support of State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego), who recently stated that she is still hesitant about supporting the legislation that would give same-sex couples the ability to marry.

“I continue to support greater rights for same-sex couples and will not oppose the bill should it come before me on the Senate floor, but I also continue to have reservations about voting for this bill at this time,” she said.

The bill, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), marks the fifth time in six years that the California Legislature will tackle the same-sex marriage debate, and Ducheny has yet to be swayed to support such legislation.

“If she abstains, this will be the same vote that she has taken in the past, so I don’t think the Democrats who have supported her were under any illusion that she would ever take an issue in support of same-sex marriage,” said Jess Durfee, the co-chair of the California Democratic Party LGBT Caucus, adding, “LGBT Democrats have been working on this issue for a long time with Sen. Ducheny.”

The senator – whose 40th Senate District covers the southern part of San Diego County, Imperial County and a fraction of Riverside County that includes the eastern part of Palm Springs – abstained from supporting an almost identical bill authored by Leno, AB 849, by “taking a walk” when the Senate voted on the legislation in 2005.

Although that bill passed, making the California Legislature the first legislative body in the nation to approve a bill that would give same-sex couples the choice to marry, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, saying it directly contradicted Proposition 22 – California’s 2000 ballot initiative that prevents California from recognizing same-sex marriages.

“The message it sends to those who have voted for Ducheny in the past is that while we haven’t been able to change her mind yet, ‘taking a walk’ and abstaining is better than voting against the legislation,” Durfee said.

Ducheny said that while she may not have voted in favor of previous same-sex marriage legislation, she ultimately does not oppose the goal of civil unions and has been a consistent supporter of expansion of domestic partnership rights in California.

“Ultimately, I think the state ought to create an opportunity for civil unions. I abstained because I remain troubled by the legislature voting to do something that contradicts the expressed will of the voters. And although I opposed Proposition 22, until it is struck down by the courts, or overturned by the voters, it remains their most recent statement on this issue,” she said.

But Ducheny does not think that voters are ready to vote in favor of same-sex marriage.

“We ought to avoid putting this issue up before the voters again so soon, because I’m not sure, given the sentiments among voters such as those in areas like the ones I represent, that a majority of Californians are ready to support civil marriage for same-sex couples,” she said.

Democrats who support the bill have been contacting Ducheny’s office and meeting with the Senator to urge her to support the bill.

“There are folks still talking to her and I don’t think we are going to give up until the vote is capped,” Durfee said, noting that Ducheny’s stance on the issue is a disappointment for GLBT democrats and progressive democrats in her district. “Frankly the greater Democratic Party shares frustration with Senator Ducheny for not being able to cast a yes vote on this issue,” he said.

Leno reintroduced the marriage equality bill after a trial court found California’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. The First District Court of Appeal in 2006 overturned that original decision. Leno’s new bill is gender neutral, worded to define marriage as a union between two consenting adults.

Twenty-nine assemblymembers and 19 senators co-authored the bill, meaning that only two additional votes are necessary to pass it in the Senate. The California State Assembly passed the bill in June. Gov. Schwarzenegger has said he will veto AB-43.