SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Log Cabin Republicans at the state capitol are putting pressure on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a gay marriage bill this year, NBC11's Mike Luery reported.

"When it comes to marriage, we believe in the fundamental fairness of the American people. There has never been a major civil rights movement that has failed in the United States," said statewide director of the Log Cabin Republicans, James Vaughn.

The Log Cabin Republicans said they see marriage equality as a civil rights issue, Luery reported. They equate it to the racial equality movement promoted by Abraham Lincoln, the log cabin president.

Political analyst Steve Swatt said a gay marriage bill in California is an uphill fight.

"Certainly Gov. Schwarzenegger is a moderate, or seems to be, in the true sense of the word," Swatt said. "Yet if he does sign this, he certainly would lose a great deal of his Republican base in California."

The California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus at the capitol are all Democrats, Luery reported.

"Log cabin is working on that," Vaughn said. "One of my goals this year is to start building a farm team of Republicans who can run credible campaigns."

Log Cabin Republicans are meeting with the Schwarzenegger administration, seeking appointments to state boards and commissions as part of their grassroots campaign.

Although the governor is unlikely to sign a gay marriage bill in 2007, the Log Cabin Republicans are not giving up, Luery reported. They said they are committed to broadening the reach of California's Republican party.

California's marriage equality bill, similar to a measure vetoed by Schwarzenegger in 2005, was written by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco.