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Openly gay state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill today that would require public school materials to include the historical contributions of gay people as a way to fight bullying. Leno's Senate Bill 48 is similar to a proposal that was approved by the Legislature in 2006 but vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Most textbooks don't include any historical information about the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history," Leno said in a press release. Leno was recently named to prominent leadership as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee....

Complete title: Homosexual nuptials: A sweetheart deal--Judges ignore conflicts of interest to push radical social agenda Judge Stephen R. Reinhardt of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to disqualify himself from a case challenging California's homosexual "marriage" ban even though his wife has been directly involved in the case. His insistence on serving as one of three judges to consider Perry v. Schwarzenegger is an affront to the rule of law.The case involves a ban on homosexual "marriages" that was passed by statewide referendum. Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, himself a homosexual, ruled the law unconstitutional, and...

Here, for reasons that I shall provide in a memorandum to be filed in due course, I am certain that “a reasonable person with knowledge of all the facts would [not] conclude that [my] impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” United States v. Nelson, 718 F.2d 315, 321 (9th Cir. 1983); see also Sao Paulo State of the Federated Republic of Brazil v. Am. Tobacco Co., 535 U.S. 229, 233 (2002) (per curiam). I will be able to rule impartially on this appeal, and I will do so. The motion is therefore DENIED.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sponsors of California's ban on same-sex marriage asked a liberal federal appeals court judge Wednesday evening to disqualify himself from the panel that will review the ban next week because of his wife's leadership role in the American Civil Liberties Union. Judge Stephen Reinhardt's "impartiality might reasonably be questioned" because his wife, Ramona Ripston, is an outspoken opponent of Proposition 8 and has taken part in legal proceedings to overturn the ballot measure, lawyers for the measure's supporters told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Reinhardt, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter who...

He has been, in many ways, a governor of firsts:• The first to take office as a result of a recall election.• The first to commute, on an almost daily basis and via private jet, between the Capitol and his Southern California mansion. • The first to have served in the Austrian army, the first to have won the Mr. Olympia body-building title seven times, and - as far as we know - the first California chief executive to have nude photos of himself widely available on the World Wide Web.But "first" does not necessarily mean "great," or even "good."And...

Arnold Schwarzenegger dished out make-believe mayhem during his action movie hero days, but he must be a closet masochist. Why else would he say, as he often does, that he'd love to remain governor of California? He's already one of the most unpopular governors in state history, and he's leaving behind an economy that's erased more than a million jobs and a state budget deficit that's worse than the one he inherited seven years ago. A rational man would jet to his ski lodge in Sun Valley and return to Sacramento just in time to hand the mess to successor...

A transgender youth leader was charged with murder Monday in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in Walnut Creek, a prosecutor said. Akira Tajah Jackson, 24, of Oakland was also charged with an enhancement for using a large kitchen knife to kill 56-year-old Alan Gray in his home on Santa Rita Drive at about 9:20 a.m. Thursday. Born David Gavin, Jackson has been living as a woman for five years and met Gray about a year and a half ago while she was dancing at Diva's nightclub in San Francisco, said Contra Costa County prosecutor Barry Grove.

OAKLAND -- An Alameda County Superior Court election remained undecided Wednesday, with Victoria Kolakowski - who would become the nation's first transgender judge - holding a slight lead over John Creighton. Kolakowski, an administrative law judge for the state Public Utilities Commission, led Creighton, a deputy district attorney, by 50.22 to 48.77 percent, or 3,300 votes out of 230,000 total votes cast, the county registrar's office reported. All precincts have reported, but provisional ballots and late-arriving mail ballots were still being tallied.

A court says San Diego firefighters cannot be forced to participate in homosexual "pride" parades -- and that the city's forcing four of them to do so three years ago subjected them to "sexual harassment." Four San Diego firefighters filed suit against the city in 2009 and won in the case surrounding their forced participation in a 2007 "gay pride" parade. The city, however, appealed that decision -- and Alliance Defense Fund attorney Joe Infranco tells OneNewsNow that the appellate court agreed Thursday with the lower court. "[The court found] that they had been sexually harassed by the city's compelling...

SAN FRANCISCO -- In defending his refusal to appeal a judge's order overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage, Attorney General Jerry Brown said the sponsors of the ballot measure can appeal it themselves - a statement that might aid their efforts to preserve the ban in court. Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, made the comment in Tuesday's debate after Republican Meg Whitman criticized his non-defense of Proposition 8, the November 2008 initiative defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman."You can't have a governor or attorney general who makes a decision on what part of the...

Thursday October 7, 2010 Schwarzenegger Vetoes Gay-Sponsored “Trojan Horse” Measure on Marriage By Peter J. SmithSACRAMENTO, California, October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earned muted praise from pro-family advocates last week after he vetoed a measure that one pro-family group described as a “Trojan horse” that could have helped homosexuals overturn Prop. 8 in 2012. SB 906, authored by the openly homosexual Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and supported by many homosexual groups, would have changed the Family Code to refer to “civil marriage” instead of just “marriage.” The bill also stated that no authorized religious official...

Identification cards that don't say whether you're a man or woman? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation today that would have allowed counties to issue official identification cards that did not identify either the owner's address or gender. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, had proposed the measure as a way to assist undocumented immigrants who lack adequate documentation to qualify for a state-issued ID card, and to help transgender individuals who feel uncomfortable having a gender listed.

The Chronicle has learned that Equality California, the LGBT rights organization that has been at the vanguard of the fight to secure same sex marriage in California, will launch commercials next week at two top-o-the-ticket Republicans who said they would defend Proposition 8 in court: guv candidate Meg Whitman and AG hopeful Steve Cooley.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Backers of California's same-sex marriage ban urged a federal appeals court to overturn the trial judge who struck down Proposition 8 by arguing late Friday that his consideration of evidence was "egregiously selective and one-sided." In written arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the ban's sponsors alleged that Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker "quite willfully" disregarded a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court precedent and other relevant information when he decided the voter-approved measure was an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians' civil rights. "The district court based its findings almost exclusively on an...

When U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down California’s Proposition 8, the subsequent hubbub centered primarily around whether the decision was an example of judicial activism. Whether Walker, or any federal judge, is within their jurisdiction to rule on a state’s constitution is an entirely separate argument from whether the institution of marriage ought to be redefined. No matter which side of the latter issue you support, it is of greater importance to the integrity of our republican jurisprudence that we all embrace the correct answer to the former. It is the purview of the states to craft...

With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is Asia, a conservative law professor is trying to cajole acting Gov. Abel Maldonado to appeal to defend California's same-sex marriage ban in court. John Eastman, who lost a bid in June to become the Republican nominee for attorney general, is calling on Proposition 8 supporters to "help Abel Maldonado do the right thing. Call him TODAY to say you support him filing the Notice of Appeal. . . . Call Now. Call Every Hour." Eastman, on his website today and in emails, is supplying office phone numbers and cell phone numbers for Maldonado, who is...

A California court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that overturned the state’s gay marriage ban, according to an Associated Press report. The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento on Wednesday denied a conservative legal group’s request to force the officials to defend Proposition 8 in court. The court did not give a reason why it turned down the request by the Pacific Justice Institute.

Under the Constitution, the Governor and Attorney General have a duty to support and defend the state constitution. Their oath requires them to support and defend the constitution - "without mental reservation." But some claim the Governor and the State Attorney General are refusing to uphold their oath of office and duty – when it comes to Proposition 8 – which is part of the state constitution. Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown do not personally support Prop 8 but..

Editors' note: This piece is co-authored by Ken Klukowski.Same-sex marriage is back as a front-burner issue in American politics. On August 4, a federal judge in San Francisco held that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, striking down part of the California Constitution defining marriage as one man and one woman. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ordered an expedited schedule to consider this case, with arguments to be held in December. Now former RNC chairman and 2004 Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman came out this week, announcing he’s homosexual, and pushing the Republican...

There were other things I wanted to write about this evening, but now I feel like I’m obligated to write a society-page feature because the Drama Queen (Ken Mehlman) decided to make her debut at the cotillion. (...) Excuse my derision, and denounce me as suffering from “homophobia” — Can I get an SSI disability check for that? Would Medicaid pay for treatment? — if that satisfies your craving for a sense of moral superiority. You’re not going to guilt-trip me into pulling punches. I’m heaping the most vicious ridicule I can on this twerp for a reason: To discourage...