Gay Marriage Foes to Appear in Court

[TexasStooge]

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO, California - Their wedding march on City Hall produced marriage licenses in the hundreds, but gay and lesbian couples who took part may not even finish opening gifts before their nuptials are null and void.

Opponents of Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to defy state law and have marriage licenses issued to gay and lesbian couples were to have their day in court Tuesday, with hearings scheduled on the petitions of two groups.

By Monday night, 2,340 same-sex couples had taken their vows at City Hall since the county clerk, under Newsom's directions, started issuing "gender-neutral" marriage licenses Thursday.

Hundreds of couples, aware their opportunity may be fleeting, spent a rainy Monday in a three-block-long line outside the ornate building waiting for the historic chance to wed with the city's blessing.

"We really felt that if we didn't make it by today that we wouldn't be able to," said Deb Agarwal, 40, after she and her partner of six years, Diane Pizza, 55, were married by an elected city supervisor, one of the dozens of city officials deputized to officiate at the nonstop nuptials.

In a brief submitted for a court hearing Tuesday, lawyers for one of the groups seeking to block gay weddings said Newsom was in blatant violation of state law when he ordered marriage licenses for gay couples.

Newsom has argued that the equal protection clause of the California Constitution makes denying marriage licenses to gay couples illegal. But lawyers for a group formed to defend Proposition 22 — a 2000 ballot initiative that says the state will recognize only marriages between a man and woman as valid — contend the mayor lacks the authority to make that decision.

"What the mayor and his cronies have attempted to do is short-circuit the legal process by being both judge and jury themselves," said Alliance Defense Fund attorney Benjamin Bull.

Another group, the Campaign for California Families, has a hearing scheduled before a different judge Tuesday. It wants an injunction to keep the city from issuing any more licenses to same-sex couples, and a declaration that the ones already granted are invalid.

The city's lawyers said they will argue that local government agencies or officials are not barred from advancing their own interpretations of the state constitution. They also claim the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that continuing to issue licenses for same-sex couples would cause the irreparable harm necessary to obtain a court stay.

"Same-sex couples denied the right to marry face far greater harm than the petitioners here," stated a legal brief filed by the city Monday.

Most of the gay couples getting married at City Hall are from the Bay Area but about 50 are from other states, including New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, Assessor Mabel Teng said.

Many of the city workers who helped process the licenses during the holiday weekend were volunteering their time, Teng said.

The city will continue issuing marriage licenses on Tuesday "unless told otherwise by the city attorney," she said. But she added that the city will be able to issue only about 30 to 50 licenses a day starting Tuesday because the volunteers will have to return to their regular jobs.

The looming legal showdown didn't deter thousands of people from gathering at City Hall on Monday, either to get married themselves or to cheer on beaming newlyweds.

The steps in front of city hall resembled a raucous wedding reception as newlyweds leaving the building hand-in-hand were greeted with applause and trumpet fanfare. Other couples drove by, honking their horns and waving their freshly minted marriage certificates.

"It doesn't matter even if it's a one-day thing because of the precedent," said Tom O'Brien, of Redwood City, who returned to City Hall for the second day in a row so he could wed his partner of four years, Sathit Sapprasert. "It's important that we stand up. Whether this survives the scrutiny is another question."
___

Associated Press writer Josh Dubow contributed to this story.

[GalvestonDuck]

*runs in and tickles Stooge*

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

[stormraiser]

Psst. Stooge, you can't use the G word in thread topics Or Duck will come and tickle you

[TexasStooge]

Oops! My mistake!

[GalvestonDuck]

or the L word or the H word or the P word or the F word or the B word or the D word or the M word or the T word or the one that starts with R or the one that starts with K or the one that starts with C or the Q word or the A word or the G word or the N word or the W word or that other H word or the S word or the O word.

And I'll tickle ya and do the two-finger poke in the eyes if you use the J word.

[stormraiser]

:fishslap: is what she will do

[JCT777]

:lol: or the L word or the H word or the P word or the F word or the B word or the D word or the M word or the T word or the one that starts with R or the one that starts with K or the one that starts with C or the Q word or the A word or the G word or the N word or the W word or that other H word or the S word or the O word.

And I'll tickle ya and do the two-finger poke in the eyes if you use the J word.

Wow, you have eliminated most of the alphabet!

Better run before I get tickled.

[Rainband]

Yea shawn you didn't leave much of a vocabulary left to choose from *Runs before getting tickled*

[GalvestonDuck]

*snicker* I know...I was being silly.

I believe I left E, I, U, V, X, Y, and Z available.

*tickles Johnathan and John*

[Stephanie]

*snicker* I know...I was being silly.

I believe I left E, I, U, V, X, Y, and Z available.

*tickles Johnathan and John*

EXCELLENT!

[ColdFront77]

* Checking to see if E, I, U, V, X, Y, and Z are the ones remaining. *

Okay... done. E, I, U, V, X, Y and Z they are.

[GalvestonDuck]

LOL, Tom!

This means "Xena Exhibit Yesterday Unveils Interesting Zipperless Vestments" and "Zealous Youth X-rays Veins Unilaterally, Inquest Expected" are safe and will protect anyone from being tickled.

[David]

I'm lost.

[j]

JMO here but on topic. I'm sick and tired of seeing homosexuals lined up by the thousands to get their illegal marriages blessed by city officials who are blatantly ignoring laws on the books.

The media is pushing this down our throats, and I frankly am concerned that the influential young boys and girls will become MORE numb to this alternative lifestyle, then they already are!

I know the gay crowd will argue if your gay your gay and nothing is going to change that, but I'm one of those that happens to feel that there are those youngsters on the "fence" so to speak; that will go the other way more out of experimentation, than a lustful desire to be with the same sex.

[GalvestonDuck]

"Lustful desire?" *tickles J, simply because I hate that L word*

Big difference between lust and love. The Bible speaks out against lust, both ways. It may not seem like it if you look at what's on TV, but some of us actually do have some major sense of restraint and control. But that's beside the point.

I'm sick of it, too. Not quite sure what they think they're doing, but it's not getting them anywhere. J, I know sometimes we argue differing points on this issue and you might think that I'm "pushing an agenda" because I'm gay. But I think you know that, in all fairness, I argue some valid points without really getting in your face and trying to shove crap down your throat. I hate the "in-your-face" attitude also -- from the militant gays as well as from the anti-gay crowd. It's one thing to live it and to argue it. But it's not right to force it.

I'm also peeved at what the media is doing and I'm confused as hell as to why in the world everyone thinks they're getting "married" when they aren't. All I can do is look at the news and shake my head. Yeah, I want to get married one day. But why waste the day when it's not really happening? They're making a mockery out of what they claim to hold so dear to their hearts. I'm willing to bet that less than 5% of those couples are serious about their commitments and will still be together in 10 years. The rest of them are doing it to force the issue and it's making me sick! They're worse than Britney Spears right now.

As for kids doing it out of experimentation or out of lust, rather than out of love, I assume you mean sex, not marriage. It's my hope that whether they're gay or straight, they wait. It's worth it.

[j]

My comments were NOT directed at you, I think you know that.

"As for kids doing it out of experimentation or out of lust, rather than out of love, I assume you mean sex, not marriage."

Yes..I meant sex, not marriage as far as the kids are concerned.

BTW....great response.

[TexasStooge]

JMO here but on topic. I'm sick and tired of seeing homosexuals lined up by the thousands to get their illegal marriages blessed by city officials who are blatantly ignoring laws on the books.

Same here!

[GalvestonDuck]

Thanks, J. And yup, I know that.

[David]

LOL, Tom!

This means "Xena Exhibit Yesterday Unveils Interesting Zipperless Vestments" and "Zealous Youth X-rays Veins Unilaterally, Inquest Expected" are safe and will protect anyone from being tickled.

(or) I'm excited!