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SF mayor moves to grant marriage licenses to gay couplesLISA LEFF, AP from sfgate.com on the Web February 11, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Mayor Gavin Newsom told the county clerk Tuesday to investigate what San Francisco needs to do to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, an act that would contravene California law. The newly elected Democrat said he wants all "forms and documents used to apply for and issue marriage licenses" to be revised by County Clerk Nancy Alfaro so they can be provided "on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to gender or sexual orientation." "Less than a month ago I took the oath of office here at City Hall and swore to uphold California's Constitution, which clearly outlaws all forms of discrimination," Newsom said in a statement. "Denying basic rights to members of our community will not be tolerated." If Newsom's request is honored and implemented within the short time he hopes, San Francisco would become, at least symbolically, the first place in the nation where gay and lesbian couples could wed. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has cleared the way for the state to start sanctioning marriages between same-sex couples as early as mid-May. A spokesman for Newsom acknowledged that the mayor's request was an act of protest as well as public policy. State law explicitly defines marriage as an act between a man and a woman, a prerequisite Newsom considers "codified discrimination," said Peter Ragone, Newsom's spokesman. "What the mayor is doing is asking the county clerk to make the necessary changes so same-sex couples will no longer be discriminated against," Ragone said, adding that Newsom hopes to personally officiate at a wedding between two grooms or two brides within a week. At this point, however, it remains unclear whether the couples' marriage licenses would be worth the paper they're printed on, since marriage is a matter of state law. Alfaro, the county clerk, said she supports the mayor's aims but thinks it might be hard to pull off that quickly. She said she plans to consult with the city attorney on Wednesday to see what repercussions the city would face if it proceeds with Newsom's idea. "I don't know what options we have or if we can do this," Alfaro said. "We have always treated (the granting of marriage licenses) as a state-mandated function." The California attorney general has not issued an opinion on whether there is any wiggle room for city or county governments to set marriage requirements that differ from the state's, said Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. "This is a very controversial issue that has been subject to different court interpretations," Jordan said. "I'm sure at some point we will be asked to weigh in." Ragone said the 36-year-old mayor wanted to weigh into the roiling national debate over legalizing marriage for gay and lesbian couples because of San Francisco's historical role as a haven of tolerance for gay people. San Francisco's 8,902 same-sex couples make up 2.7 percent of the city's households, the highest percentage of anywhere in the country, according to the 2000 Census. California Assemblyman Mark Leno, who plans to introduce legislation this week that would make marriage for gay and lesbian couples legal statewide, applauded Newsom's move as a "another statement of civil disobedience" that could ultimately form the basis for a successful legal challenge of the state's ban on gay marriages. In addition to the language contained in its family code, California is one of 38 states with specific laws barring marriage between people of the same sex. In 2000, 61 percent of voters approved a ballot measure that prohibits California from granting marital rights to same-sex couples who are legally married in another state. Nevertheless, California is widely considered by gay rights activists to have the nation's second most gay-friendly laws after Vermont. Last year, the legislature approved, and then-Gov. Gray Davis signed, a measure granting same-sex couples who register as domestic partners all the legal rights and responsibilities of married spouses, save the exception to file joint income taxes. |
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