SAN FRANCISCO_—_San Francisco officials presided over the marriages of at least 15 same-sex couples Thursday and issued about a dozen more marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
The act of civil disobedience was a political and legal challenge to California law. It pre-empted the efforts of the_Campaign for California Families_to block Mayor Gavin Newsom's plan to license_same-sex marriages . A spokesman for the group vowed it would file an injunction request Friday and characterized Thursday's marriages as a sham. "These unlawful certificates are not worth the paper they are printed on. The renegade mayor of San Francisco has no authority to do this," said Randy Thomasson, the group's executive director. "This is nothing more than a publicity stunt that disrespects our state law and system of government itself." Longtime lesbian activists_Phyllis Lyon , 79, and_Del Martin , 83, were the first to be married. San Francisco Assessor Mabel Teng wed them at 11:10 a.m. PST_in a closed-door civil ceremony at City Hall, mayor's spokesman Peter Ragone said. The two have been a couple for 51 years. It remains unclear what practical value their marriage license will have, but the symbolism was self-evident on a day when lawmakers in Massachusetts were debating a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but legalize civil unions. Thursday's marriages defy a ballot measure California voters approved in 2000 that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. State lawmakers subsequently passed a domestic partner law that, when it goes into effect in 2005, will offer the most generous protections to gays and lesbians outside Vermont. San Francisco officials insisted Thursday that the licenses were legally binding. "Today a barrier to true justice has been removed," the mayor said in a statement. Campaign for California Families has sued, so far unsuccessfully, to block the state's domestic partner law, which Gov. Gray Davis signed in September. That law expands the rights of gay couples in areas ranging from health coverage and parental status to property ownership and funeral arrangements. On Thursday, San Francisco City Hall was crowded with jubilant same-sex couples. The vows in one of the marriages, performed before television cameras, replaced the traditional phrasing take each other as "husband and wife" with "spouse for life."
Meanwhile, about 30 couples crowded outside the San Francisco County Clerk's office awaiting licenses, many arm in arm. One of the women, wearing a white wedding dress and veil, encouraged couples to shout out their names and how long they had been together. Before the crowds arrived, the elderly couple said after the brief morning ceremony that they were going home to rest and didn't plan anything to celebrate. Still, it was a profound moment for the pair, veterans of decades of gay rights struggles. "Why shouldn't we" be able to marry, Lyon asked. Mayor Newsom was not present at the morning ceremony but later presented Martin and Lyon with a signed copy of the state constitution with sections related to equal rights highlighted. The two official witnesses were Kate Kendell, director of the_National Center for Lesbian Rights and former city official Roberta Achtenberg. The Associated Press_contributed to this report.
The act of civil disobedience was a political and legal challenge to California law. It pre-empted the efforts of the_Campaign for California Families_to block Mayor Gavin Newsom's plan to license_same-sex marriages . A spokesman for the group vowed it would file an injunction request Friday and characterized Thursday's marriages as a sham. "These unlawful certificates are not worth the paper they are printed on. The renegade mayor of San Francisco has no authority to do this," said Randy Thomasson, the group's executive director. "This is nothing more than a publicity stunt that disrespects our state law and system of government itself." Longtime lesbian activists_Phyllis Lyon , 79, and_Del Martin , 83, were the first to be married. San Francisco Assessor Mabel Teng wed them at 11:10 a.m. PST_in a closed-door civil ceremony at City Hall, mayor's spokesman Peter Ragone said. The two have been a couple for 51 years. It remains unclear what practical value their marriage license will have, but the symbolism was self-evident on a day when lawmakers in Massachusetts were debating a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but legalize civil unions. Thursday's marriages defy a ballot measure California voters approved in 2000 that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. State lawmakers subsequently passed a domestic partner law that, when it goes into effect in 2005, will offer the most generous protections to gays and lesbians outside Vermont. San Francisco officials insisted Thursday that the licenses were legally binding. "Today a barrier to true justice has been removed," the mayor said in a statement. Campaign for California Families has sued, so far unsuccessfully, to block the state's domestic partner law, which Gov. Gray Davis signed in September. That law expands the rights of gay couples in areas ranging from health coverage and parental status to property ownership and funeral arrangements. On Thursday, San Francisco City Hall was crowded with jubilant same-sex couples. The vows in one of the marriages, performed before television cameras, replaced the traditional phrasing take each other as "husband and wife" with "spouse for life."
Meanwhile, about 30 couples crowded outside the San Francisco County Clerk's office awaiting licenses, many arm in arm. One of the women, wearing a white wedding dress and veil, encouraged couples to shout out their names and how long they had been together. Before the crowds arrived, the elderly couple said after the brief morning ceremony that they were going home to rest and didn't plan anything to celebrate. Still, it was a profound moment for the pair, veterans of decades of gay rights struggles. "Why shouldn't we" be able to marry, Lyon asked. Mayor Newsom was not present at the morning ceremony but later presented Martin and Lyon with a signed copy of the state constitution with sections related to equal rights highlighted. The two official witnesses were Kate Kendell, director of the_National Center for Lesbian Rights and former city official Roberta Achtenberg. The Associated Press_contributed to this report.
