From the genius who popularized the Hummer came two separate gubernatorial bitch slaps yesterday: first, he vetoed AB 866, which would have added "sexual orientation" to attributes (such as age or race) in a voluntary pledge that allows politicians the option of stating that they won't permit appeals based on negative stereotypes in their political campaigns. Despite having successfully existed for some time, the pledge was declared by Arnold to be "unenforceable" (um, yes, that's what the whole "voluntary" part is about) and, oddly, argued that politicians (such as himself) should not have the option of pledging to practice "decency, honesty, and fair play," because only voters ought to determine which negative stereotypes aren't ok to exploit. Read his vague statement here -- adding insult to injury, it's in PDF.

The really big news, though, is that He Who Must Not Be Named decided that he would be vetoing AB 849, the gay marriage bill. After being approved by both the Assembly and Senate, his signature was the final obstacle to the bill becoming law. As justification, he cited Proposition 22, which anti-marriage groups say proves that 61% of California voters oppose marriage equality -- but it's actually a little more complicated than that. For one thing, more recent polls show that Californians are evenly split on gay marriage. And Prop 22 passed five years ago -- a very different time, considering all that's happened with homogays lately -- and merely amended the civil code to say that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized in California. Since then, it's been the focus of judicial scrutiny, because its intent and impact -- whether to ban gay marriage in California, or just the recognition of gay marriages from out of state -- is unclear, and may soon be ruled unconstitutional. According to a very thorough LA Times article, gays' marriages will almost certainly be ultimately delineated by courts.

Marriage-equality opponents are having trouble making up their minds about who exactly should decide this matter; sometimes it's a matter for voters, sometimes a matter for courts, sometimes a matter for legislators -- basically, whoever didn't just give a thumbs-up to gays getting married. In fact, not too long ago, Arnold said that fixing marriage laws is "something that the legislators can do." So, uh, we guess he was just kidding about that. El-oh-el, Your Honor.

Update: Since the veto hasn't happened yet, Equality California is planning a series of statewide vigils at from 4:30 to 7 p.m. today to try to change the governor's mind. Could it happen? Sure. Is it likely? Er, no, but neither was the legislature's passage of the bill. If you can't make it to Sacramento (at L Street and 11th Street), there'll be a local vigil here in SF at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. Call Arnold to complain at 415-703-2218, and email him via EqCa and the HRC.

Image borrowed from ... er ... well, we're not really sure what's going on here.