FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Corri Planck
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FAMILY PRIDE COALITION LAUDS CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY’S PASSAGE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND CIVIL MARRIAGE PROTECTION ACT

Joins In Call for Governor Schwarzenegger to Sign the Bill
                                                                   

Sept. 7, 2005 – The Family Pride Coalition today lauded the passage of California’s Assembly Bill 849 -- the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act -- authored by openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).

After last week’s 21-15 passage in the California State Senate, the Act moved to the State Assembly for a concurrence vote, where it passed 41-35. This makes the California Legislature the first elected body to pass legislation to end marriage discrimination against same-sex couples.

The Act now goes to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk, where he has until October 6 to sign or veto the bill, or simply let it go into effect without his signature.

“We believe Governor Schwarzenegger values family, and this measure simply provides equal protections and obligations for same-sex couples and their children,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition, a national organization for LGBT parents and their children. “This is one of those rare moments in history when a Governor has a true opportunity to leave a lasting legacy -- the question now is whether will he stand for civil rights by signing this historic civil rights legislation, or slam the door to equality in the faces of hundreds of thousands of California families? We join with our partners in California and throughout the country in calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to do the right thing by signing this measure.”

The Family Pride Coalition is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to securing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents and their children.