California court voids San Francisco gay marriages

Published: 2004-08-13

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- The California Supreme Court said Aug. 12 that the nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco earlier in the year were void because the city's mayor lacked statutory authority to approve them. All seven justices said that in authorizing the city to issue marriage licenses and perform ceremonies, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom violated a 1977 California law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. A 5-2 majority of the court said the 3,995 marriages licensed between Feb. 12 and March 11, when the court stopped the weddings, were nullified. Undecided by the state court was a separate question of whether the California Constitution permits same-sex marriages. Lawsuits over the constitutionality of same-sex marriages are working their way through the state courts. The Aug. 12 ruling considered only the issue of whether local officials can decide on how state law is applied, said Chief Justice Ronald George in writing for the majority.

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