City of San Francisco issuing marriage licenses to gays, weds 1 couple so far...

[JohnT]

San Francisco weds first gay couple

Thursday, February 12, 2004 Posted: 4:05 PM EST (2105 GMT)

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.

[JohnT]

I like how they got an elderly female couple, one as far away from the "stereotype" as they could get.

[Nubclear]

[David Floyd]

[Asher]

[Spiffor]

[Lawrence of Arabia]

And i was just about to post this too. Whats happening to my city? it seems that its getting more and more revolutionary. First a city supervisor stages a coup detat, and then we go against state law? its cool tho. nothing like a little revolution to get the politicos off their fat lazy asses.

[GePap]

BK in four, three, two, one......

[Berzerker]

[The Templar]

It's about time the left did something like this. Conservatives have done this sort of thing for years - passing abortion bans, school prayer bills (a Louisiana fave), putting the 10 Commandments in the courthouse, etc. Glad to see the left doing some good old fashion municipal disobedience.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

OMG WATCH YOU GUYS. GAYNESS IS SPREADING. NOBODY IS SAFE. RUN FOR THE BORDER. OUR COUNTRY IS HEADING DOWN THE DRAIN.


not.

[Kuciwalker]

just to be different...




























EDIT: Berzerker beat me to it

[JohnT]

You know, I don't think I love Laura as much as I used to...

[MrFun]

This is awesome.

[Ben Kenobi]

That's going to go over well with California. Challenge state authority. Why not wait?

[Asher]

This is awful, the birthrate is going to plummet in San Francisco. Everyone who's been there knows how under-crowded it is.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by JohnT
You know, I don't think I love Laura as much as I used to...

I can feel your pain

I think I'll break up with my gf right n,ow, myself

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


That's going to go over well with California. Challenge state authority. Why not wait?

Not with a bang, but with a whimper...

[David Floyd]

That's going to go over well with California. Challenge state authority. Why not wait?

Well, you'll oppose it if California legalizes it, too, so as far as you're concerned, what's the difference?

[molly bloom]

Well of course the city by the bay (Sodom on Sea) will be destroyed in an earthquake, be cleansed by the sea, and then the Rapture will sweep all the believers up leaving the rest of us to have a whole lot more fun when the killjoys aren't around any longer.

England had a parliamentary theocracy and a military theocracy and it weren't any fun people. Unfortunately a lot of their adherents decided to move to the colonies on Charles II's return to join their 'fun' loving brethren and sustren, which is why the United States has the likes of Falwell and Oral Roberts today.

Perhaps they could be persuaded to build their New Jerusalem on Mars?

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by molly bloom
Perhaps they could be persuaded to build their New Jerusalem on Mars?

And ruin the fun that could be Mars?

No, if there must be an intelorant hellhole in this Earth, let it be the Bble belt. At least, the other parts of the world would be free of their antics

[Asher]

[Spiffor]

No better idea than to wed old people, who have probably been waiting for this for a -very- long time

Edit: 51 years says the article. To say they could have been celebrating their golden aniversary alrady

[Ben Kenobi]

DFloyd:

I'm a fundamentalist Christian, so who cares what I believe anyways?

Doing something like this in this matter is going to piss off the folks to my immediate left, who want to have a say.

Do it this way, and you will not have the support of the people of California behind you, especially considering the legislature already passed a bill against this just 4 years ago.

Again, very poor show, that they have to impose this on the people of California rather than soliciting their support.

[DinoDoc]

Yeah, whatever. I wonder how Arnie is going to handle people violating California law.

[GePap]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Yeah, whatever. I wonder how Arnie is going to handle people violating California law.

Well, first he will have to ask Maria, no?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
DFloyd:

I'm a fundamentalist Christian, so who cares what I believe anyways?

Doing something like this in this matter is going to piss off the folks to my immediate left, who want to have a say.

Do it this way, and you will not have the support of the people of California behind you, especially considering the legislature already passed a bill against this just 4 years ago.

Again, very poor show, that they have to impose this on the people of California rather than soliciting their support.

Oh come on, this isn't going to change anyone's mind for the worse. If you were against gay marriage before, you would be upset. If you were for it, you would be happy. If you were sitting on the fence, it helps some people realize that the gay stereotype of young and polygamous is lame and not true, and perhaps gays aren't as different as insecure Christian bigots make them out to be.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

You arnt imposing your will on anyone when your rights have been violated. This is simply a way to get your rights unviolated.

[Ben Kenobi]

Now Schwartzenegger has a direct challenge to his authority in San Francisco. It will be interesting to see what action, if any he takes.

Any speculation on to what will the effects be depending on his decision?

I can see three options.

1. Quashing this civil disobedience.
2. Doing nothing
3. Supporting the civil disobedience, and legalising gay marriage across the state.

[Ben Kenobi]

your rights have been violated.

What right?