Why Schwarzenegger Is Not Good For California Gays

Boi From Troy attempts to argue that Friday October 12th, the day that Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 43, the gender-neutral marriage bill, was actually a "good day for Gays in California" by listing the eight bills the Governor signed into law in the same post that he reports that the Governor vetoed the marriage bill. Mad Professah vigorously disagrees with the notion that somehow by signing some gay rights bills while vetoing the most important makes Schwarzenegger "gay-friendly."

Here are the bills in question listed by Boi From Troy that the Governor has signed into law this year that are of interest to the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities in order to support his argument that the Governor's veto of the gay marriage bill wasn't that bad:

SB 559 retroactively grants domestic partners exemptions from property tax reassessment after the death of a partner
SB 105 implements joint tax filing by domestic partners
AB 102 allows couples to take the last name of either partner at registration of their domestic partnership
AB 394 reinforces the anti-discrimination laws for LGBT youth in schools
SB 443 makes it possible for HIV positive men to have children through artificial insemination
AB 682 changes the process for patient permission to get an HIV/AIDS test.
AB 14 updates the anti-discrimination policies in several sections of the law
SB 777 reinforces anti-discrimination policies in the education code

Where to begin? First off, a Democratic Governor would have signed all these bills as well as AB 43, the gender-neutral marriage bill. So, because California has this Republican governor LGBT individuals have to settle for "some" rights and presumably be happy with half a loaf instead of a whole.

Secondly, the Governor vetoed a lot of other legislation which would have benefited all Californians and members of the LGBT and AIDS/HIV communities specifically. The most important of which was universal healthcare. Thirdly, thanks to his financial policies California's schools, colleges and universities face higher fees and less state support and by damaging educational opportunity, the Governor is harming all Californians.

That's just three reasons that I could think of off the top of my head why having Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor is not "good for California Gays."