Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
Our nanny’s friend was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and her car was impounded for thirty days because she was an unlicensed driver. This seems like a good law, because it gets the people who are ten times as likely to be involved in an accident off of our roads. But it also punishes people who cannot get a license no matter how good a driver they are – specifically illegal immigrants.
Los Angeles and some other communities think this is so awful that they have stopped enforcing the law while the Legislature tries to come up with a fair solution. From the perspective of somebody on the road, giving a license to those with the skills to drive regardless of their citizenship does seem like a better idea than just taking their car.
My finance and I are blocked from getting a marriage license because we are a same-sex couple. Like illegal immigrants, we are not blocked because of our skill, but because of something outside of our control. Unlike illegal immigrants, we are citizens paying taxes and casting votes. From the perspective of somebody in a relationship, giving people a license to wed regardless of their gender does seem like a better idea than fabricating some elaborate untested “domestic partnership” structure to impound their relationship. .
San Francisco and some other communities think this punishment is so awful they have stopped enforcing the bad law and issued marriage licenses anyway, but you blocked them from continuing. The legislature even came up with a fair solution, but you vetoed it without even a reading.
Really, Governor, why do you tolerate it when places like Los Angeles evade the law punishing illegal immigrants, while you slam down with all your might at places like San Francisco who evade a law that is punishing your citizens and neighbors? I wish you would consider joining the people and the Legislature in supporting the freedom to marry.
Yours,