Google opposes gay marriage ban

Google has taken the unusual step of publicly opposing Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California.

Same-sex marriage became legal in California in June after the state Supreme Court ruled a ban was unconstitutional, setting the stage for the ballot proposal.

Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, acknowledged in a blog post that it was an “unlikely question” for Google to take a stand on. But for Google, he said, it became an “issue of equality.”

“However, while there are many objections to this proposition -- further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text -- it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8.

“While we respect the strongly held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone’s fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.”

Another company that has publicly opposed Proposition 8 is San Francisco’s Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

-- Jessica Guynn