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California Court Annuls Gay Unions By Michael Martinez and Jane Meredith Adams LOS ANGELES -- The California Supreme Court on Thursday voided about 4,000 marriage licenses issued earlier this year to same-sex couples in San Francisco, saying city and county officials stepped outside of legal bounds. The marriage licenses issued by San Francisco's City Hall and county government violate a 1977 state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the state's highest court ruled in a 5-2 decision. The justices kept their ruling narrowly focused on whether the executive branch of a local government can ignore laws approved by the legislative branch and a voter-approved measure. In its decision, the court said no. The ruling did not answer whether the California Constitution permits same-sex marriage, saying the legislative and judicial branches must determine the issue. The justices said they would entertain such a challenge, if a case now in a San Francisco court reaches them. Meanwhile, state Democratic lawmakers are considering advancing a proposal in December that would change the state law. Both sides are readying for a long fight in the two arenas. The San Francisco marriages intensified national debate on same-sex nuptials when they were performed Feb. 12 to March 11. Several states and President Bush have staked out positions on the issue. Bush proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, but it stalled in the Senate. Massachusetts in May began allowing same-sex marriages, and Missouri voters earlier this month amended their constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Several other states are holding votes in November on the issue. Though clearly emotionally and symbolically powerful, the San Francisco-sanctioned marriages did not last long enough to test their legal weight widely, though some couples obtained spousal benefits from employers, said Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Project at the UCLA School of Law, a think-tank on sexual orientation law and policy. In all, people from 46 states, including Illinois, and eight other countries obtained licenses in California. On Thursday, gay and lesbian couples wept and expressed anger outside a state building in San Francisco, while supporters of the law hailed the high court's decision. Mayor has `no regrets' San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who authorized the same-sex marriages, said he respects the ruling but added that he had "no regrets" about his illegal decree. He also said the current law is discriminatory. "I'm proud of what we've done," Newsom said at a City Hall news conference. "It is fundamentally wrong in this country and in this city to deny equal protection under the law." The mayor compared the struggle to legalize same-sex marriages to the fight to allow interracial marriages. "We will prevail," he said. "It's simply a matter of time." Randy Thomasson, executive director for Campaign for California Families, one of the groups that filed a lawsuit challenging the San Francisco marriages, said the city had "zero authority" to authorize gay and lesbian couples to marry. "This ruling taught voters that marriage is for a man and a woman in California," he said. Thomasson also criticized several Supreme Court justices for "anticipating and even calling for a future case where they can create homosexual marriage out of thin air." State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, who led the legal challenge, said he opposes the current statute and supports gay and lesbian marriages. But he said his duty is to uphold the law, and asserted that local officials cannot unilaterally declare a state law unconstitutional. "I don't think it's a secret that I'm not an opponent of gay marriage, but I have a legal duty to defend the law," he said. Court leaves door open Chief Justice Ronald George said Thursday's decision does not deal with "the substantive legal rights" of gay and lesbian couples. Rather, he said, "the legal issue before us implicates the interest of all individuals in ensuring that public officials execute their official duties in a manner that respects the limits of the authorities granted to them as officeholders." California voters overwhelming reaffirmed the state's ban on gay and lesbian marriage in a 2000 ballot measure. Thomasson and other backers of that referendum plan to challenge a state law that will extend to domestic partners, starting in January, many of the same rights enjoyed by married couples. In downtown San Francisco, about a dozen gay and lesbians who had married were in a somber mood. One woman came dressed in a white satin wedding gown and veil. John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, said they would have to make a difficult phone call to a 7-year-old relative who lives in Evanston, Ill., and was thrilled when the two men married six months ago. They have been partners for 17 years. "Kids understand love, but they don't understand discrimination," Gaffney said. Tribune national correspondent Michael Martinez reported from Los Angeles
and freelancer Jane Meredith Adams reported from San Francisco
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