Editor’s note: With minutes to go before press time, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would veto AB 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. Please take note of this development when reading the news story below. The Gay & Lesbian Times will follow up on this outcome in next week’s edition.

The California Legislature made history by becoming the first legislative body in the nation to pass marriage equality legislation. On Tuesday, the state Assembly approved Assembly Bill 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, in a 41-35 vote. Earlier this year when the Assembly voted on the bill, which was then called AB 19, it did not gain the necessary 41 votes to pass, failing 37-36 on June 2.

The California Senate became the first legislative body in the U.S. to pass equal marriage rights legislation with last week’s historic 21-15 vote on Sept 1. Now that the bill has passed through both the state Senate and Assembly, it heads to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk for his signature before it can become law. He has until Oct. 6 to sign or veto the bill, or he can let it go into effect without his signature.

Schwarzenegger has expressed an acceptance of same-sex marriage in the past, but has also stated that he believes it’s an issue that should be decided by voters or the courts.

A new Public Policy Institute of California poll indicates public opinion on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry is, for the first time ever, evenly split. The poll indicates that 46 percent of the electorate support marriage equality with an equal number opposed.

Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson, Margita Thompson, told The Associated Press that his office would not comment about how he would act if the bill is sent to his desk. Thompson did note that the governor is supportive of domestic partnerships.

“He will uphold whatever the court decides,” Thompson said after Tuesday’s Assembly vote.

Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, a conservative group opposed to the bill, said Schwarzenegger should announce immediately that he would veto the legislation.

“Schwarzenegger can’t afford to sign the gay marriage license bill,” he told AP. “He’ll actually become a hero to the majority of Californians when he vetoes it.”

In the state Senate vote, all Republicans voted against it along with one Democrat, Dean Florez, D-Shafter. Three other Democrats abstained from voting: Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, Michael Machado, D-Linden, and Jack Scott, D-Altadena.

In the Assembly vote, all Republicans voted against the bill except Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, who abstained. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, and Jerome Horton, D-Inglewood, also abstained.

Of the 41 votes necessary for the bill’s approval, crucial yes votes were gained from Democrats who had previously abstained in June. Those included Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Montclair, Tomas Umberg, D-Anaheim, and Simon Salinas, D-Salinas. Four Democrats voted no: Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, Barbara Matthews, D-Stockton, Nicole Parra, D-Bakersfield, and Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista.

Unlike Massachusetts where the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, California could be the first state to potentially pass this legislation without any court involvement.

Geoffrey Kors, the executive director of the statewide GLBT lobbying organization Equality California, said the state Senate and Assembly’s votes were an unforgettable moment in California history.

“Today in California, love conquered fear, principle conquered politics, and equality conquered injustice,” he said in a statement issued after Tuesday’s Assembly vote. “For the first time in our nation’s history, the people’s elected representatives have taken a stand to protect all families and ensure equality for all. We are counting on Governor Schwarzenegger to lift the burden of discrimination from hundreds of thousands of California families by becoming the first governor in the nation to sign legislation ending discrimination against same-sex couples obtaining a civil marriage license. His legacy will in large part be based on whether he signs or vetoes this historic civil rights legislation.”

During the voting process on the Senate floor, Senator Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, one of six openly gay members of the state Legislature, discussed her long-term relationship with her partner to demonstrate the necessity of AB 849. Many other senators voiced words of support and encouragement for the bill.

“It was very meaningful for me. I was proud of the senators that voted aye,” Kehoe told the Gay & Lesbian Times. “I did mention my partner, Julie Warren, and our relationship of 20 years, because I think it’s important for the members to know that it’s just not an abstract idea, that for some of us, we are in long-term relationships and marriage should be open to us the same as it would be to a heterosexual partnership.”

Kehoe has high hopes that Schwarzenegger will sign the bill.

The chapter leader of Equality California San Diego, Fernando Lopez-Sager, said he was hopeful AB 849 would pass the Assembly. Now, he said, it is essential Schwarzenegger hears from the GLBT community.

“It is not up to the majority to discriminate against the minority,” Lopez-Sager said. “In this country we are supposed to be granted equal protection under the law. Now is the time to send a clear message to our governor that California stands for equality. It is imperative that the people of San Diego and California contact him in any and every way….”

San Diego Assemblymember Lori Saldaña has always been a supporter of GLBT rights, and has supported the marriage equality bill from its inception.

“The Senate has acknowledged that LGBT couples in California deserve full human rights when it comes to marriage, and supports having these couples take on the full legal responsibilities of civil marriage,” Saldaña told the Gay & Lesbian Times. “I believe over time this will strengthen families, and it was especially important that, as several senators pointed out, people of faith from mainstream denominations lent their support to this bill.”

Kehoe said that proposed ballot initiatives sponsored by several conservative groups are potentially devastating for GLBT rights. Two groups, including Thomasson’s Campaign for Children and Families, are seeking to place separate initiatives on the June 2006 ballot, both of which would invalidate domestic partnership rights granted to same-sex couples under Assembly Bill 205 and ban same-sex marriage in the state constitution. Petitions for the anti-gay initiatives are being circulated to gather the necessary signatures to qualify for next June’s ballot.

“They are aimed at not only preventing marriage equality, but also rolling back all the rights that go along with domestic partnerships: the custody, powers of attorney, the ability to visit your partner in a hospital if he or she is ill – everything goes,” Kehoe said. “Employment discrimination, housing discrimination – all of that would be legal.”