February 12, 2004
San Franciso makes its statement on same-sex marriages.
Despite a state law barring same-sex marriages, San Francisco offiicals went ahead and married lesbian and gay couples all day on Thursday, in a move backed by the city's mayor.
A San Francisco lesbian couple who have been together five decades [activists Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon] were the first to marry, followed by dozens of other couples who said their vows in City Hall ceremonies.
The cheers and yelps echoed throughout the building all day, as the couples wed. It was an emotional day, as gays and lesbians who had expected to be refused wedding licenses during a planned National Freedom to Marry protest were instead married under the ornate City Hall rotunda.
Some came in wedding gowns and tuxes, others in jeans. Several couples rushed to get married during their lunch hours after word spread that they could.
"A barrier to true justice has been removed,'' said Mayor Gavin Newsom, who argues that state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman amounts to unconstitutional discrimination against gays and lesbians.
It's almost certain that the courts will stop what SF is doing, at least for the time being; the right-wing Liberty Counsel is asking for an injunction to block any further marriages. The state attorney general's office was already studying the status of same-sex couples under California law because of the court ruling on same-sex marriages in Massachusetts. If it decides to do so, the state can rule the SF marriages illegal.
Posted by Magpie at February 12, 2004 11:28 PM | TrackBackKudos to the Mayor!
Posted by: michael the wanderer on February 13, 2004 12:47 AMBut on second thought, it may not have been best for all concerned to have done it this way.
My argument rests on legalistic thinking, so I will leave it at that unless another poster asks.
Posted by: michael the wanderer on February 13, 2004 10:02 PMyeah, there's a danger that this could backfire and provide the religious right with exactly the kind of ammunition they need to get a 'protection of marriage' amendment passed ...
on the other hand, the pictures of the newlyweds coming out of SF may do even more to show people that lesbian/gay newlyweds are the same as any others. anyone who wasn't moved by the picture of del martin & phyllis lyon has a heart of stone.
Posted by: Magpie on February 14, 2004 02:41 AM