Actor-activist George Takei says former California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's 2005 veto of a gay marriage bill prompted him to
publicly come out gay.
Schwarzenegger vetoed the legislation on September 29, delivering
on a promise he had made earlier.
Appearing on HuffPost Live, Takei told host Josh Zepps that he
started to come out to family and a few friends in the late 70s, but he
didn't go public until 2005.
“In 2005, I spoke to the press primarily because my blood was
boiling,” Takei said. “Something extraordinary happened in
California. By that time Massachusetts had marriage equality but it
came through the judicial route. In California, both houses of our
legislature, the Senate and the Assembly, passed a same-sex marriage
bill. It went to the governor's desk. When the governor, who
happened to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran for the office he
campaigned saying, 'I'm from Hollywood. I've worked with gays and
lesbians. I'm comfortable with gays and lesbians.' I thought surely
he would sign the bill. But he was a Republican and he played to the
arch conservative sector of his constituency and vetoed it.”
Takei went on to say that a lot of work remains on gay rights.
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