quote:
Judge Leaves City's Approval of Gay Marriage Intact For Now
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 17, 2004
Filed at 3:06 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- In the first of two such hearings, a state judge delayed until at least Friday a ruling on whether to block San Francisco from continuing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay said Tuesday morning he was not prepared to rule on a lawsuit to block the marriages, more than 2,300 of which have taken place since last Thursday.
Another judge was scheduled to hear a similar case Tuesday afternoon. Peter Ragone, a spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom, said the city would continue to issue licenses until it knew the outcome of the second court hearing.
Opponents are seeking to nullify the marriages and block the city from continuing to distribute the licenses that began last week under an order from Newsom. The newly elected mayor's decision to permit gay marriages, while still legally unsettled, has intensified the national debate over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
In a heavily crowded courtroom across the street from City Hall, where hundreds have lined up for the marriage certificates, Quidachay told lawyers for the Campaign for California Families that they had not given the city enough notice to obtain an emergency injunction.
``The court itself is not prepared to hear the matter,'' Quidachay said.
Campaign for California Families, a conservative group, said California voters in 2000 espressly limited marriages recognized in the state to unions between a man and a woman. The group also said state law defines marriage as ``a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman'' and that the mayor lacks the authority to amend the California Family Code.
Newsom has argued that the equal protection clause of the California Constitution makes denying marriage licenses to gay couples illegal.
Whatever the outcome of Tuesday's court cases, the final judicial decision on the matter is expected to come later from the California Supreme Court as both sides have promised to appeal.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in November ruled that that state's constitution permits gay marriages. Lawmakers there are debating a constitutional amendment to ban them.
Another battle won. But the outcome of the war is far from over .....