Gay Activists Vent Rage Over Wilson’s Veto : Protest: Governor’s rejection of job discrimination bill sparks violence. A large Capitol demonstration is planned.

Infuriated by Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of a major gay rights bill, California’s gay activists launched a wave of protest Monday that branded the governor “a liar” who betrayed a cause he pledged to support.

Scores of Los Angeles demonstrators waged raucous, disruptive rallies at the Westwood Federal Building in the morning and the Ronald Reagan State Office Building downtown in the afternoon. Protesters splattered red liquid on the state building and broke a heavy glass door before disbanding after a standoff with police. State Police arrested two demonstrators.

Activists in Los Angeles and elsewhere vowed to press their fight for AB 101, a bill that would provide civil rights protection against job discrimination for homosexuals. Their tactics, they said, will include a major demonstration at the state Capitol on Oct. 11, an initiative drive to place a gay rights proposition on the ballot, and threats to publicly disclose the supposed homosexuality of certain “closeted” state officials.

Wilson, in explaining his decision, argued that existing laws afford homosexuals ample protection against discrimination. He said he had been tempted to approve the bill because of a “tiny minority of mean-spirited, gay-bashing bigots” who vehemently opposed the legislation. But gay activists said Wilson’s decision was nothing less than a betrayal.

“We were blatantly lied to, and we are angry,” said John J. Duran, co-chair of the Lobby for Individual Freedom and Equality, which helped write AB 101. Duran said Wilson promised to support anti-discrimination legislation in meetings with gay activists during his gubernatorial campaign against former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.

Duran was among several gay activists who angrily condemned Wilson during a news conference at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center.

“There is a time for outrage and for hitting the streets,” said Torie Osborne, executive director of the center. “The gay and lesbian community is not going to take this lying down.”

“Simply, we are going to take over the Capitol. . . . Wilson, your political career is over. You are the enemy,” Rob Roberts, a member of the radical group Queer Nation, declared as gays watching the news conference broke into cheers. Activists said they are planning a major demonstration in Sacramento on Oct. 11, designated as “National Coming Out Day” by the gay rights movement.

Asked whether gays would follow through on threats to “out” homosexuals within Wilson’s Administration, Osborne predicted that such tactics will be employed by radicals. “This is war, and anything goes,” she said.

“A closet is a dangerous place to be,” Duran said.

Wilson’s veto raises the broader question of whether he can be relied on to support other issues, Duran said.

“Wilson absolutely caved in to the far right of his own party and to the fundamentalists on gay rights,” Duran said. “What else, then? Abortion rights? The teaching of evolution? Sex education and AIDS education in public schools? What else will the right hold him hostage to?”

Meanwhile, fundamentalists who had passionately opposed the measure had only the faintest praise for the governor. They thanked him for rebuffing the bill, but attacked his overall record on tax and family issues.

The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, whose Traditional Values Coalition opposed the bill, said he was happy Wilson vetoed the measure because it would have stifled job creation in California. But he withheld support for the governor.

“While we appreciate the veto and thank the governor, it must be said that the governor is not anti-tax and is not family friendly and has not been rehabilitated to warrant reelection,” Sheldon said at an Anaheim news conference.

Sheldon, a nationally known anti-gay rights crusader, was outraged that Wilson said he regretted the “false comfort” his veto might bring to “a tiny minority of mean-spirited, gay-bashing bigots.”

Sheldon said those comments were an insult to the thousands of voters, religious leaders and Republican officials who worked to defeat the measure, and he demanded an apology.

Wilson’s actions have “further distanced him from the rank and file of the Republican Party and the people of California,” Sheldon said.

Wilson’s veto triggered immediate protests from gay activists who had been awaiting his decision in a small West Hollywood park they dubbed “Queer Village.” Sunday night, hundreds of gays marched along Santa Monica Boulevard in a demonstration marred by a violent clash between protesters and a motorist that left at least one man injured.

Joseph Aspromonti, 22, of Los Angeles was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after witnesses said his car plowed into a crowd of protesters, said Sheriff’s Lt. Rudy Walker of the West Hollywood station.

Aspromonti was arrested after he came into the station to report vandalism on his car.

Walker said the department is trying to “get this all sorted out.”