Domestic Partners Veto

By Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of the “domestic partners” legislation he has demonstrated a failure of moral leadership (Sept. 12). He has pandered to the bigots of the radical Christian right instead of providing for the needs of more than 1 million Californians.

This legislation would have strengthened true “family values” by providing domestic stability for many. We can only hope that a future governor will have more moral courage in this matter.

C. F. STEWART

San Diego

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Thank you, Gov. Wilson, for vetoing the unmarried partners bill. For years we have been complaining about the rise of illegitimacy and the breakdown of morality and family values in our society. Of course, this has contributed to the rise of juvenile crime and the gradual erosion of civilized society.

Assemblyman Richard Katz’s (D-Sylmar) bill would have furthered this trend by giving unmarried couples the status of those couples who have made moral, legal, and religious commitments to each other. Why bother getting married anymore and starting a traditional family? Just shack up with whomever you please, abort your unborn babies . . . and don’t forget to let the taxpayers pick up the tab for all of your irresponsible activities.

GEOFFREY C. CHURCH

Los Angeles

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Wilson probably should have signed the domestic partnership bill; visiting in the hospital is a pretty non-threatening activity. However, we all recognize that there is a bigger agenda behind this innocuous bill. Therefore we should pause and think this through a little.

There have always been people who cohabited without getting married, and society has always felt the need for a few rules about it. These have traditionally been handled as “common law” marriages. People live together long enough and they are married under common law. Most states have common law marriages, but California in its wisdom abolished them along ago. Between “palimony” suits and now, domestic partnership agitation, abolition would appear to be yet another “progressive” reform that has proven superficial.

BOB DAVIS

West Hollywood

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A veto for AB 2810, which would have allowed 500,000 unmarried couples (93% heterosexual/7% homosexual) to register with the state as domestic partners, was camouflaged under a Wilson-glorifying headline for his signing of a bill that allows women to wear pants to work.

I resent the absence of full consideration by The Times to those issues that affect me as a registered and voting citizen of California.

JOSE DEL BOSQUE

Venice