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Arnold Schwarzenegger on Civil Rights

Republican CA Governor


Gay marriage should be between a man and a woman

During an interview with Sean Hannity [on Fox News in 2002], Arnold made his most famous gaffe of the campaign, though voters appeared to find it charming. Asked whether he supported gay marriage, Arnold replied, "No, I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."
Source: The Governator, by Ian Halperin, p.272 , Oct 12, 2010

2004: override San Francisco gay marriages with state ruling

On Nov. 18, 2003, a 4-3 decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized gay marriages in the state. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed by Congress and signed by Pres. Clinton in 1996, defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and saying that states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons of the same sex.

The issue grew more intense, but Bush's rhetoric did not. In Feb. 2004, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom poured gallons of gasoline on the controversy by issuing city marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This was too much for the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ordered the state attorney general to "take immediate steps to obtain a definitive judicial resolution of this controversy." By May 2004, Missouri had become the first of 12 states in 2004 to qualify a ballot initiative in defense of traditional marriage. All twelve measures in defense of traditional marriage passed, with support ranging from 57% to 86%.

Source: Courage and Consequence, by Karl Rove, p.374-376 , Mar 9, 2010

Rated “D” by National Review on pro-gay issues

On Gay Marriage: The National Review gives Gilmore, an “F” on the issue of gay marriage. By way of comparison to other then governors, Schwarzenegger of California had a “D.” Rell of Connecticut had a “C.”
Source: RSLevinson.com “All Things Queer”, review of 2008 gay issues , Jan 1, 2007

Eliminate racial inequality in employment

The people have to have the same right for work and the same kind of opportunities. Right now, for instance, we have a 6.6% unemployment rate here in California, and we have an increase in unemployment amongst women, 25%, amongst Hispanics, 20%, and amongst African-Americans, 45%. Where is the equality here? We need to fight for equality. When I am governor, I will fight for that. And I think the governor sets the tone on that.
Source: Recall Debate, Cal. State Univ. at Sacramento , Sep 24, 2003

Against giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants

HUFFINGTON: I’m very glad that Arnold is in favor of providing health care for the children of illegal immigrants. That’s really good news, because you did vote for 187. And because you have also come out against licenses for undocumented immigrants. So there is a bit of a contradiction here. It’s all very well to say you’re for children, you want them to be insured, but if their parents cannot legally drive them to work, whether they’re insured and they’re safe, isn’t that a bit of a contradiction?

SCHWARZENEGGER: We’re talking about health care, and you’re talking about driver’s licenses.

HUFFINGTON: But they are connected because parents drive their children.

SCHWARZENEGGER: I am against the driver’s license because it is without any background check and without any fingerprints or anything. Therefore, it is dangerous for the security of California. Davis came out a year ago and has made it clear and has said, we cannot do that because it is endangering us, it is a security problem.

Source: [Xref Huffington] Recall Debate, Cal. State U. at Sacramento , Sep 24, 2003

Advisor to US English, an anti-bilingual organization

Schwarzenegger was criticized last week about his membership on the advisory board of U.S. English, a group that supports making English the country’s official language. A Schwarzenegger campaign spokesman strongly denied the accusations. “The man is an immigrant himself. To say he’s anti-immigrant is Orwellian,” the spokesman said.
Source: Associated Press on SFgate.com , Sep 1, 2003

Keep gambling commission independent of tribes

Governor Davis’ recent announcement offering the lead role in selecting two of the five members of the California Gambling Control Commission to the very gaming tribes the commission is in charge of regulating is unfortunate and misguided. It puts both the commission and the gaming tribes in a very bad position, creating potential questions of conflict and undermining the vital credibility of the commission itself.

The California Gambling Control Commission should be completely independent of any perceived control of the very interests it is supposed to regulate. This is yet another example of Davis putting his own political interest ahead of the public interest. I oppose this decision and I call upon Governor Davis to immediately reconsider and reverse it.

Source: Statement on California Gambling Control Commission , Aug 30, 2003

Domestic partnership but not gay marriage

In a rapid-fire series of questions by radio talk show host Sean Hannity on the nationally syndicated Sean Hannity Show, Schwarzenegger said he does not support gay marriage, but does approve of some kind of domestic partnership.

“I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman,” he said, a misstatement in a rush to keep up with the staccato-like delivery of the questions [implying that marriage should only be between a man and a woman].

Source: CNN.com , Aug 28, 2003

Supports gay rights, including adoption rights

He’s loud and clear about his support for gay rights, including adoption rights. He once told Cosmopolitan magazine, “I have no sexual standards in my head that say this is good or this is bad. Homosexual-that only means to me that he enjoys sex with a man and I enjoy sex with a woman. It’s all legitimate to me.”
Source: Time magazine cover story , Aug 18, 2003

Require 90 day delay for compliance before ADA lawsuits.

Schwarzenegger adopted the Republican Main Street Partnership agenda item:

H.R. 914/S. 872 the ADA Notification Act.
Republican Main Street Partnership Congressman Mark Foley (FL) introduced this legislation to protect the Americans with Disabilities Act from a growing number of lawyers who are generating huge sums in legal fees for pointing out accessibility violations by business when often simple fixes would bring properties into compliance with the ADA's accessibility standards. This variety of litigation abuse stems from the lack of any notification provision in the ADA. RMSP supports a 90-day delay between notification of an alleged accessibility violation and any legal proceedings. This notification will allow honest business owners to become ADA compliant without added legal expense while freeing up the courts to pursue legal action against bad players.

Source: Republican Main Street Partnership Legislative Agenda 02-RMSP8 on May 24, 2002

Limit interstate class-action lawsuits to federal courts .

Schwarzenegger adopted the Republican Main Street Partnership agenda item:

H.R. 2341/S. 1712 Class Action Fairness Act.
Class Action suits, most often claiming product defects, have increasingly become fertile ground for unscrupulous trial attorneys. Using jurisdictional loopholes, trial lawyers are suing for enormous sums with little or no payout to injured parties. Multi-million dollar interstate lawsuits filed on behalf of irrelevant plaintiffs, often unaware that a claim has been filed, are filed in state courts. This increases the volume of claims filed, and leads to multiple, expensive, settlements. H.R. 2341, supported by Republican Main Street Partnership Reps. Judy Biggert (IL), Tom Davis (VA), Porter Goss (FL), Melissa Hart (PA), George Nethercutt (WA), and Rob Simmons (CT), eases the burden of addressing interstate claims in federal court. At the federal level, courts have greater resources and uniform rules. This provides a more appropriate venue for such cases and protects legitimate claimants ability to recover losses.

Source: Republican Main Street Partnership Legislative Agenda 02-RMSP9 on May 24, 2002

Other governors on Civil Rights: Arnold Schwarzenegger on other issues:
CA Gubernatorial:
Jerry Brown
CA Senatorial:
Barbara Boxer
Dianne Feinstein

Newly seated 2010:
NJ Chris Christie
VA Bob McDonnell

Term-limited as of Jan. 2011:
AL Bob Riley
CA Arnold Schwarzenegger
GA Sonny Perdue
HI Linda Lingle
ME John Baldacci
MI Jennifer Granholm
NM Bill Richardson
OK Brad Henry
OR Ted Kulongoski
PA Ed Rendell
RI Donald Carcieri
SC Mark Sanford
SD Mike Rounds
TN Phil Bredesen
WY Dave Freudenthal
Newly Elected Nov. 2010:
AL: Robert Bentley (R)
CA: Jerry Brown (D)
CO: John Hickenlooper (D)
CT: Dan Malloy (D)
FL: Rick Scott (R)
GA: Nathan Deal (R)
HI: Neil Abercrombie (D)
IA: Terry Branstad (R)
KS: Sam Brownback (R)
ME: Paul LePage (R)
MI: Rick Snyder (R)
MN: Mark Dayton (D)
ND: Jack Dalrymple (R)
NM: Susana Martinez (R)
NV: Brian Sandoval (R)
NY: Andrew Cuomo (D)
OH: John Kasich (R)
OK: Mary Fallin (R)
PA: Tom Corbett (R)
RI: Lincoln Chafee (I)
SC: Nikki Haley (R)
SD: Dennis Daugaard (R)
TN: Bill Haslam (R)
VT: Peter Shumlin (D)
WI: Scott Walker (R)
WY: Matt Mead (R)
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Page last updated: Nov 21, 2011