Bush stumps in L.A. as city council denounces marriage amendment

As President Bush swept through Southern California on a fund-raising sprint, the Los Angeles city council and the Los Angeles County board of supervisors went on record Wednesday opposing his call for a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The city council voted unanimously for a resolution opposing the amendment, while supervisors split 3-2 along party lines, with Republicans Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe voting against a resolution. Councilman Dennis Zine, a Republican, voted for the council's resolution, saying, "Discrimination is discrimination." Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa said "the federal marriage amendment would take us back to an era...when it was OK to discriminate against people." Antonovich expressed anger that the resolution vote was taken Wednesday, saying he thought it was going to be delayed due to Bush's Southern California visit. He said he had told supporters of the constitutional amendment to stay home. But Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said delaying the vote would have sent "a message of uncertainty, which is not where the board is." He said he discouraged people from coming because he didn't want to host a three-hour hearing on the issue. On February 24, Bush urged approval of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, and Republican in the U.S. Senate said Wednesday they will move later this month to consider several versions of a possible amendment.