Arnie faces pressure from gay Republicans
The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is under pressure from gay activists in his own party to approve a gay marriage bill.
The former action star is seen as a moderate Republican who learned to work with the Democrat-controlled state legislature since he took office in 2003.
Now members of the Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT lobbying group, are calling on the governor to treat gay rights as a civil rights issue.
“When it comes to marriage, we believe in the fundamental fairness of the American people.
“There has never been a major civil rights movement that has failed in the United States,” James Vaughn the director of the Log Cabin Republicans in California, told NBC11.com
A San Francisco Assemblyman has brought forward a marriage equality bill in the state legislature in Sacramento.
Politics watchers in the Golden State think it is unlikely that Schwarzenegger will bow to pressure on gay marriage, which remains a wedge issue for many Republican voters.
The Austrian-American has a poor record on gay rights.
In 2005, he used his gubernatorial veto to block a gay marriage bill similar to the one now under consideration.
On the other hand he appointed a lesbian Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff.
The legislature itself has a powerful Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, but all of them are Democrats.
“Log Cabin is working on that,” Vaughn said. “One of my goals this year is to start building a team of Republicans who can run credible campaigns.”
