http://sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/2449799p-10764477c.htmlSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A bill to legalize gay marriage in California died Thursday after it failed to gain the simple majority needed to pass the state Assembly.
In the second and final time in two days before the 80-member house, the tally was four votes shy of a majority.
Nearly a quarter of majority Democrats either joined Republicans in opposing the bill or chose not to take a stand on the hot-button topic, now headed for likely showdowns in the state's courts and at the ballot box.
"Voting for this bill may erode the advances we have made," said Gloria Negrete McLeod, a Democrat who abstained despite a previous record that gay rights advocates considered friendly to their cause. "It's a shame we get into these things where we become so politicized and polarized."
morehttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/02/MNhowtheyvoted02.DTLHow the Assembly voted on same-sex marriage