California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced yesterday he will veto a bill that would have made California the first state to legalise same-sex marriage.
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Mr Schwarzenegger said the legislation, approved on Tuesday by legislators, would conflict with the intent of voters when they approved an initiative five years ago.
Proposition 22 was placed on the ballot to prevent California from recognising same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries. It stated that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised in California".
The bill to be vetoed by Schwarzenegger would have defined marriage as a civil contract between "two persons".
A veto override in California requires a two-thirds vote in both the Assembly and Senate. The Assembly approved the bill 41-35, while the Senate voted 21-15.
Gay rights advocates accused Mr Schwarzenegger of betraying the bipartisan ideals that helped get him elected in the 2003 recall.
"Clearly he's pandering to an extreme right wing, which was not how he got elected," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, one of the bill's sponsors.
"He got elected with record numbers of lesbian and gay voters who had not previously voted for a Republican, and he sold us out."
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said Schwarzenegger missed "a golden opportunity to stand on history and do something that was noble and appropriate".