http://www.365gay.com/news/feinstein-opposes-calif-gay-marriage-ban/(Sacramento, California) As polls continue to show that a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in California is in trouble, US Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has come out against the measure.
“As a state, I believe we should uphold the ability of our friends, neighbors and co-workers who are gay and lesbian to enter into the contract of marriage,” Feinstein said in a statement released by her office. “
equality and fairness.”
It is the first time Feinstein has spoken out against the measure, known as Proposition 8.
In 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began allowing marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples. At the time Feinstein said it was “too much, too fast, too soon.”
Prior to running for the U.S. Senate, Feinstein served as mayor of San Francisco following the assassinations of openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1974.
Following Newsom’s decision to allow same-sex couples to marry, the state took the mayor to court arguing he had overstepped his authority. The state Supreme Court agreed and as a result the more than 8,000 marriages that had been performed were declared void.
The ruling, however, did not directly address the issue of the constitutionality of the state ban on same-sex marriage. LGBT civil rights activists began a separate court action challenging the ban.