Suit to stop gay marriages delayed

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attempts to stop local officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples stalled in court Friday as hundreds of jubilant couples from as far away as New York and Los Angeles were granted the right to wed.

A conservative group asked Superior Court Judge James L. Warren to stop the actions of San Francisco officials who began granting licenses to same-sex couples on Thursday. The issuance of the licenses, authorized by newly elected Mayor Gavin Newsom, defied a state law passed by ballot initiative in 2000 that defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The practical value of the licenses was unclear.

Warren told lawyers for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, which sought the injunction, that the court's procedures required them to return for another hearing on Tuesday to make their request again.

"Apparently, Mayor Newsom felt he's above the law and like a dictator, could simply dictate what the law should be," said Richard Ackerman, an attorney for the Campaign for California Families, which plans to request an injunction on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Mabel Teng, who is assessor and recorder for the city and county of San Francisco, said she was considering taking the unusual step of opening her office today to issue more licenses and perform ceremonies.

To meet the crushing demand yesterday, eight office clerks from Teng's department and six from the county clerk's office were deputized and pressed into service to perform civil ceremonies. Teng said volunteers from her office had agreed to stay as late as necessary last night for weddings and the recording of documents.

"I expect to marry 300 couples today, maybe 400, maybe 500," said Teng, who performed service after service, speaking in a solemn voice on the steps of the City Hall's ornate rotunda. Typically, her office performs 20 ceremonies a day.

One couple flew in from New York and arrived in the morning to be married, said Teng, while another couple said they'd started driving from Los Angeles at 1 a.m. and were in line for a marriage license at 8 a.m.

Explaining his decision to grant the licenses, Newsom said on ABC's "Good Morning America": "I'm not interested as a mayor in moving forward with a separate but unequal process for people to engage in marriages. The people of this city and certainly around the state are feeling that separate but unequal doesn't make sense."

Around the country, including in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, other gay couples had their requests for licenses rejected by court clerks as Thursday's "National Freedom to Marry Day" protests continued into the next day. Such protests have been held every Feb. 12 since 1998.

As court hearings proceed in San Francisco, one issue for Warren is whether Alan E. Sears, the leader of the Alliance Defense Fund, has the legal standing to pursue his lawsuit against Newsom and San Francisco County Clerk Nancy Alfaro.

"The question is whether the people who are opposing this have been harmed and have suffered injury by virtue of the ballot initiative not being enforced," said Alison Renteln, a political science professor at the University of Southern California and the author of "The Cultural Defense."

Without establishing such harm, said Renteln, Thomasson would not be allowed to go forward with the suit. A second issue is the matter of notice, which concerns whether Newsom and Alfaro have had adequate warning to prepare a legal response, said Renteln.

While the legal battle went on in the courthouse, across the street in City Hall betrothed couples waited in lines as long as a football field to file their applications, receive their licenses, and exchange vows. They wore jeans and suits, dresses and wedding gowns, and arrived with flowers, cameras, and relatives. Some couples took the morning off from work; others squeezed in a ceremony on their lunch hour.

Jim Hogg carried the Book of Common Prayer so he could read the "you are the salt of the earth" passage from the Gospel of Matthew during his friends' service. Kirsti Copeland roamed the hall calling out, "Does anyone need a rabbi? I've got one."

Helene Wenzel wore a hastily purchased $10 ring from Nordstrom. "She's promised she'll replace it with the real thing," said Wenzel, referring to her partner, Abby Zimberg, who replied, "We'll see about that."

Wendy Daw, 36, and Belinda Ryan, 39, said they hoped their marriage would help them obtain a green card for Ryan, who is in the United States from Wales on a temporary work visa.

"To get an application to sponsor someone for a green card, you need to bring a marriage license," said Daw. "On Tuesday, I'm going to go to the INS -- we'll probably get turned down, but I'm going to ask."

Under the vaulted ceiling of the rotunda, five or six couples huddled around the room with witnesses and city officials for quiet services, while the festive crowd mingled on the periphery.

"By virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you spouses for life," said Joe Caruso, an official in the mayor's office. Jack Garceau, 48, and Stephen Freitag, 42, who have been together nine years, said they had long hoped to hear those words.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.