Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - November 22, 2004
P.J. Corkery, Staff Writer
"To those who say the struggle for marriage equality has been 'Too much, too fast, too soon,'" the assemblyman said, "we say 'Enough!'
"Enough of Democratic leaders buying into Karl Rove's cynical, handcrafted game plan. By doing so they are increasing the store and stock of homophobia in this country. Homophobia is on the rise; even in California, 91 percent of college students report hearing slurs about sexual identity on campus. ... Don't think that homophobia isn't impactful. Each of us is responsible for our own actions, but homophobia is connected to the rise in HIV. When you have a community disparaged and labeled by the nation as inferior, not worthy of equality, self-destructive behavior in the young of that community results. And half the new HIV infections are among those 25 years of age and younger.
"I will not let the gay, lesbian, bi, transgender community become the whipping child for America.
"I will not let Rove and those Democratic leaders who buy into his phobic talk scapegoat us -- and scapegoat leaders like Gavin Newsom, Ted Kennedy and Phil Angelides, who stand up for equality -- and blame us for what's wrong in the nation and for what went wrong for the Democrats in the election."
Leno puts it neatly when he puts it personally: "I am a gay man, worthy of election to public office. I am able to preside over and legalize the marriages of heterosexual couples, but there's something about me that the state has defined, which prohibits me from marrying my most intimate and committed partner? There's a huge flaw in the law and that's how the debate must be framed. Are some law-abiding, taxpaying Americans inferior because of the way they love and choose to form families?"
So, Leno will reintroduce his assembly bill authorizing same-sex marriage as a "marriage equality" bill in the next sitting. Speaker Fabian Nunez will co-sponsor. That's the earthquake: This is no longer a special rights bill. It's a civil rights debate. And the aftershocks will fall on Democrats who don't go along. ... Leno, for all his anger and determination, is a respectful man. But I would say: Watch out, Senator Dianne. ...
Thursday evening I walked into The Examiner's spiffy new offices at 450 Mission, complete with old fashioned fans and newfangled information tech racks hanging from the high ceilings (and, on the floors, that unnewsroom-like amenity: carpets), to find 250 San Franciscans milling about, gossiping, deal-making, drinking, eating and vibing to a jazz combo. They were there to celebrate the paper's progress under new owner Philip Anschutz. And progress it is: In the new digs, the reporters even have windows. ... A few months ago the paper's circulation was 70,000; now circulation is over 170,000. And 90,000 copies are delivered to homes. Examiner Publisher Scott McKibben, Chairman Bob Starzel, Executive Editor Vivienne Sosnowski (our new hotshot) and Managing Editor Jim Pimentel were pulled this way and that as ad execs, pols, socialites, shrewdies and saints delivered advice, love letters, brickbats and bouquets. As onetime Examiner columnist Mark Twain said, "There are three things every American thinks he can do ... and one of them is edit a newspaper." ...
Among those at the court of The Monarch of the Dailies: Bob Agnew and Isabelle Lemon of KNBR ... P.R. crisis managers Mike Brown and Ken Maley ... ubiquitous Mark Leno and his assembly colleague, Speaker Pro Tem Leland Yee ... and just to mark the party an international success, the glam Denise Hale. ... It's not a San Francisco event without Bella Farrow or Mrs. Ruth Dewson, two of the coolest gals east of Divisadero. ... Bruce Brugmann and the great Jean Dibble of the Bay Guardian chatted away with the editor. ... Jennifer Byrd of the Salvation Army rang a bell with many. ... Chief Fred Lau, now with Homeland Security at Oakland Airport, was just back from a breakfast with Tom Ridge. ... Lots of rising talent: Darlene Chiu from the mayor's office ... Debbie Mesloh, Kamala Harris' top press person ... all pulled together by The Ex's John "Go-To" Gollin. ... These days, the only thing that covers San Francisco better than The Examiner is the fog. ...
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