I live in the best city in the whole wide world... er at least in the US. :) And, yes, I voted for Mayor Newsom too - my first vote ever!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/12/gay.marriage.california.ap/index.html
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- In a bold political and legal challenge to California law, city authorities officiated at the marriage of a lesbian couple Thursday and said they will issue more gay marriage licenses.
The act of civil disobedience was coordinated by Mayor Gavin Newsom and top city officials and was intended to beat a conservative group to the punch.
The group, Campaign for California Families, had planned to go to court on Friday to get an injunction preventing the city from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
Longtime lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Del Martin, 83, were hurriedly issued a license and were married just before noon by City Assessor Mabel Teng in a closed-door civil ceremony at City Hall, mayor's spokesman Peter Ragone said. The two have been a couple for 51 years.
Ragone said that beginning at noon, officials would begin issuing marriage licenses to any gay couples applying for one. One lesbian couple had already lined up outside City Hall, one of the women wearing a white wedding dress.
Lyon and Martin said after the brief ceremony that they were going home to rest and did not plan anything to celebrate. The couple seemed proud of what they had done.
"Why shouldn't we" be able to marry? Lyon asked.
Thursday's marriage runs counter to a ballot measure California voters approved in 2000 that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
No state legally sanctions gay marriage, though Massachusetts could become the first this spring. The Massachusetts high court has ruled that gays are entitled under the state constitution to marry.
State lawmakers later passed a domestic partner law that, when it goes into effect in 2005, will offer the most generous protections to gays outside Vermont.
Mayor Newsom was not present for the wedding Thursday. The two official witnesses were Kate Kendell, director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and former city official Roberta Achtenberg.
The Campaign for California Families did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
rem
Gay Marriage in SF
by rem 4 Replies latest jw friends
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rem
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amac
The Campaign for California Families?!?! What a joke! Why don't they work on reducing the causes of divorce if they are so interested in the sanctity of the holy matrimony! The Christian hypocrisy in this country amuses me. We won't allow homosexuals to marry because we want to keep the sanctity of marriage, but you can get unscriptural divorces at the drop of a hat.
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sunshineToo
Hey, rem! I live in the SF Bay Area, too.
Well, my husband is really against homosexuals (he said that because he is a Christian.) For me, I'm more neutral. I don't think homosexual is natural, but if they want to get married and have families, that's not my decision to make. I had known homosexual people (they were really nice. I miss them sometimes) before, and love Queer Eye for a Straight Guy.
If they want to get married, I wouldn't oppose. But I guess still many people value the moral standard based on the Bible.
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Sassy
I had posted about this earlier today...
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/66585/1.ashx
It will be interesting to see if this makes any headway for changes..
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Mysterious
I think if a few places conducts gay marriages and people realize the end of the world is not going to come as a result maybe they will relax their stance a bit. I see people complaining about gay rights activists being so in their face over the issue but the fact is if there was no opposition to them it would no longer be a big public spectacle. We could all just get on with our lives and be content with the fact that everyone has equal rights in our society.