They'd been living in sin for 50 years, so it was high time they got hitched. And on June 16, they made honest women of each other.

Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon , 84, were married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

The court ruled that sexual orientation, like race or gender, "does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."

It was Martin and Lyon's second marriage - to each other. And note that they wore the same pastel pantsuits in 2008 as they had four years before. They were first pronounced Mrs. and Mrs. in 2004 when Newsom issued 4,000 marriage licences - later invalidated by the Supreme Court.

Reports say the pants had to be taken up a bit for last Monday's marriage, as the two had lost a little height due to aging, and Martin sometimes needs the aid of a wheelchair.

Of course, since Martin and Lyon are a lesbian couple, there are those who say they are still living in sin. But never mind. Last Saturday, they celebrated their 51st anniversary together.

As of last weekend, some 650 gay couples had booked appointments to get marriage licences at city hall and one estimate states that at least half of California's 100,000 same-sex couples will get married over the next three years.

In addition, some 68,000 out-of-state couples will travel to California, since it now has no restrictions on non-residents marrying. The change in the law did not validate the 4,000 marriages that took place in 2004.

Another notable couple eager to tie the knot are George Takei, 71, who played Sulu on Star Trek, and Brad Altman, 54, his partner of 21 years. In fact, they were the first couple to hand over $70 for a marriage licence in West Hollywood.

"May equality live long and prosper," said Takei, grinning happily.

SUMMER OF LOVE

And it is expected that California will indeed prosper from the influx of same-sex couples seeking to marry. Research done by the Williams Institute estimates the economic proceeds of the "summer of love" at $684 million, a figure which includes $64 million in tax revenue for a state in financial difficulty.

Since there will be a public vote on the issue in November, this economic windfall may not last.

And, of course, not everyone was smiling as couples lined up for marriage licences.

Those opposed to gay marriage paraded their signs reading "Jesus said go and sin no more" outside San Francisco's City Hall.

And, as usual, there was the ubiquitous "God hates fags" placard. Yes, the same sentiment was expressed outside Heath Ledger's apartment in New York after his death. Ledger evidently did not even have to be gay to incur God's wrath. All he had to do was play a gay man in Brokeback Mountain.

But Jon Stewart summed up the "God hates fags" sentiment quite nicely on his show the other night.

Looking innocently into the camera, Stewart asked: "Well, OK, if that's so, how come He's picking on all those nice people in the midwest with all the flooding?"

It is a question that just might make the Almighty smile a little.