Gay marriage bill vetoed by Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has turned down a measure which would allow for same-sex couples to marry in the state, saying that such a decision should be in the hands of the people and the Supreme Court.

Assemblyman Mark Leno's bill would have defined marriage as a union between not just a man and a woman but between two people, but 60-year-old Republican and former actor Schwarzenegger has vetoed it, the Associated Press reports.

In his veto message, he said that Californians "should not be discriminated against based upon their sexual orientation" and added that he is in support of state laws which give gay couples who live together many of the same rights and responsibilities as married couples.

However, the executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group, has called Schwarzenegger's veto "hypocrisy at its worst".

Geoff Kors said: "We find it shocking for the governor to say he opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation and then veto a bill that would have ended discrimination based on sexual orientation."

In 2005, the Terminator star vetoed a similar bill from Leno and has said he will veto all such bills.

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