California's 'Civil Unions' Bill Tabled

Focus on the Family
Wednesday, 16 January 2002

A Grass Roots Victory in the Fight to Protect Marriage

California's "civil unions" bill, AB 1338, has been tabled—for now. Assemblyman Paul Koretz pulled the bill after pro-family organizations generated grass-roots pressure with press conferences, radio broadcasts and ads targeting the districts of key assemblymen.

The bill would have created civil unions, equal to traditional marriage, and according to the bill's author, would have affected 1,500 state laws that currently apply only to heterosexual marriage. AB 1338 would have overturned the will of Californians. In March of 2000, 61% of California voters approved Proposition 22, declaring that marriage should be exclusively between one man and one woman. However, the fight over this issue is far from over. While referring to the shelving of AB 1338 as a "major victory for the family," Dr. James C. Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, cautioned in a nationwide radio broadcast, "The battle is not over; we have won a major skirmish, but the war is yet to be won."

Dobson took note of Koretz's promise that "the bill will be back." Accepting the challenge, Dobson responded, "Guess what Assemblyman, so will we, and millions of others who are not going to allow this to happen, at least not in silence."

Dobson urged listeners to continue contacting California legislators and Gov. Gray Davis, urging them to oppose any future attempt to legalize "civil unions" or gay marriage.

Information about AB 1338 is available on the Focus on the Family Web site at www.citizenlink.org, and on the Capitol Resource Institute Web site at www.capitolresource.org.

For more information, or to contact Focus on the Family, see their website at: www.family.org