The bill would remove gender bias from both marriage and domestic partnership applications, allowing each spouse or partner.
SILICON VALLEY: If you have taken a fancy for your wife's surname consider moving to the US state of California.
The California Assembly has just passed a legislation making it easier for men to take their wives' surnames.
The bill passed on Monday would remove gender bias from both marriage and domestic partnership applications, allowing each spouse or partner, regardless of their gender, the same opportunity to select a new name.
"AB 102 is about equality, flexibility and getting with the times," said Assembly woman Fiona Ma, who introduced the bill after a married couple filed a discrimination lawsuit earlier this year against the state.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Michael Buday, after he tried unsuccessfully several times to adopt his wife's last name as his own. Several local and state government offices prevented Buday from changing his name.
"This long overdue legislation would remove an important barrier to equality between partners existing in California law, ending once and for all the outdated stereotype that the family name is the sole province of the husband," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California.
"AB 102 would make it possible for all newly-married and registered couples to obtain legal recognition of their chosen family name without unfair and undue hardship," said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors.
"No couple should have to go through an expensive and time-consuming court process in order to have their family name legally recognized and honored. With this legislation, Equality California continues to work toward its mission of ensuring equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians," Kors said.
Under current Californian law, a bride has only to sign the marriage certificate to take her husband's surname. A husband, on the other hand, has to go through lengthy and costly court proceedings in order to adopt his wife's surname.
Seven states, including Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and North Dakota currently recognize a husband's right to take his wife's last name upon marriage.
While Massachusetts allows same-sex couples who are legally married to change their surnames, California would become the first state to allow domestic partners to change their names if the proposed bill becomes law.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a stance on the new law, which still has to be rubber-stamped by the California Senate.
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