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California court halts gay unions

Gay marriage opponent Leonard Gendron, a local pastor, holds a sign reading ``Homosexuals are Possessed by Demons'' outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Thursday where the Massachusetts Legislature is debating an amendment to the state's constitution banning gay marriage. PHOTO: REUTERS

The California Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco as Massachusetts lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in the only state where they have been ruled legal.

Teary-eyed couples were quickly turned away Thursday at San Francisco's City Hall, where 4,161 gay couples have tied the knot in the last month.

"We were filling out the application and they told us to stop," said Art Adams, who was the first to be denied as he and partner Devin Baker sought a license. "It's heartbreaking. I don't understand why two people in love should be prevented from expressing it."

The high court moved to block any more marriages, at least for now, until they decide whether San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had the power to authorize such unions. The court said it would hear arguments in May or June on whether Newsom had that authority.

In the east, Massachusetts legislators returned to the Capitol to consider a constitutional amendment that would strip gay couples of their court-granted right to marriage but allow civil unions.

The amendment won approval during three preliminary votes, before the Legislature recessed just before midnight on Thursday. Lawmakers planned to return on March 29 to resume deliberations.

Massachusetts took center stage in the national debate over gay marriage following a landmark decision by its highest court in November that was reaffirmed last month. The rulings set the stage for the US' first legally sanctioned gay marriages on May 17.

Lawmakers seeking to put a gay marriage ban before Massachusetts voters were unsuccessful during a joint House-Senate session last month.

San Francisco's mayor waded into the debate last month, ordering city officials on Feb. 12 to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

The high court's unanimous decision on Thursday marked a victory for conservatives who have been fighting for a month to block the rush to the altar by gay couples.

Had the court declined to intervene, the legal battle over gay marriage in California would have taken years as gay marriage lawsuits traveled through the state's lower courts.

"They restored order to chaos in San Francisco," said Joshua Carden, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund.

The Alliance Defense Fund, a fellow conservative group and state Attorney-General Bill Lockyer had asked the court to immediately block the gay marriages.

Jon Davidson, an attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay rights legal aid group, said the ruling simply puts the issue on hold for now. About 2,688 couples had wedding appointments that are now on hold.

The court said whether the California Constitution permits same-sex marriage is a question that should work its way through the lower courts. That process could take a year or more before it again reaches the state high court.

San Francisco, in response, immediately filed a lawsuit in state court demanding that a judge declare that the state constitution permits same-sex marriages.

In Massachusetts, both sides acknowledged that they face a long battle. Several of the most ardent supporters of gay marriage actually gave preliminary approval to the ban. By doing that, the lawmakers eliminated the possibility of other, less appealing versions coming forward at this time. They hope to withdraw support on the crucial final vote needed before the end of the session.

The gay marriage ban needs to be approved by two consecutive Legislatures before reaching the ballot. The earliest that could happen is November 2006.

The first constitutional convention ended after three versions of a gay marriage ban met narrow defeats during two days of passionate debate, pitting civil rights against the desire to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.

By 6am on Thursday, hundreds of people stood at the Statehouse entrance before the start of the second convention, and others chanted, waved flags and sang Gospel music on the sidewalks.
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