EDITORIAL BACK TO THE PEOPLE.

IN vowing to veto the Legislature's attempt to recognize same-sex marriages in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has wisely sent the contentious issue back to the people, where it belongs.

As a matter of civil rights, the issue is moot. Under the state's civil unions law, gay couples already have all the same rights and responsibilities as straight ones. At issue is only the word ``marriage,'' which arouses strong passions on all sides.

In 2000, 61 percent of voters approved Proposition 22, which states that ``Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.'' And the state constitution forbids the Legislature from overturning an initiative - for that, the public most vote again.

Some would claim that Proposition 22 applies only to the state's recognition of out-of-state unions, but that misses the point. The narrowest of legislative victories is hardly a mandate for overturning the expressed will of the people.

If, as some polls suggest, public opinion has shifted in favor of gay marriage, then proponents should have no trouble achieving their goals at the ballot box.