Second Judge Refuses to Stop Same-Sex Couples Marrying

in San Francisco; ‘Clearly, There’s No Emergency Here and

Nobody Is Being Harmed by These Marriages,’ Lambda Legal Says

Lambda Legal, ACLU, NCLR represent gay married couples and others

who also want to be fully protected under state Constitution’s guarantees

(San Francisco, Monday, February 17, 2004) — Two separate state courts

today rejected efforts to immediately stop same-sex couples from receiving

marriage licenses from the City of San Francisco.

Late today, Judge James Warren denied requests by an Arizona-based antigay

group called the Alliance Defense Fund, which sought to immediately prevent

the city from issuing any more marriage licenses to same-sex couples who

have been lining up since Thursday. Instead, the judge set a later hearing

date after additional briefs are filed. In a similar case this morning

brought by a Florida-based antigay group called the Liberty Counsel, Judge

Ronald Quidachay also refused to grant an injunction and set another

hearing for Friday at 2 p.m.

Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU entered

the case representing several same-sex couples who married in San Francisco

in recent days, a San Francisco couple who wants to marry and Equality

California (a statewide lesbian and gay advocacy group) on behalf of its

members.

“The courts see that there’s no need to stop what’s happening in San

Francisco right now. Clearly, there’s no emergency here, and nobody is

being harmed by these marriages,” said Jon Davidson, Senior Counsel for

Lambda Legal in its Western Regional Office in Los Angeles. “But this is

just the beginning of our fight on behalf of these married couples and

others who have yet to marry. The city is trying to protect people’s

constitutional rights, and we will defend that vigorously in court. We’ll

be back in court in the weeks and months ahead to preserve these marriages

and make sure every couple who wants and needs the protections that a

marriage license provides will be able to get one.”

The City of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex

couples last week when Mayor Gavin Newsom said the state Constitution’s

guarantees of equality and due process required him to issue licenses to

same-sex couples. California state law prohibits recognition of marriage

between same-sex couples — but that law would have to comply with the

state Constitution to remain valid, and before this week California courts

had never been asked to consider whether the law is constitutional, Lambda

Legal said. Judge Warren’s ruling today does not address any of those

substantive issues, nor does it address Newsom’s authority as mayor to

issue the marriage licenses. Those questions will be argued in the next

couple of months.

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Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full

recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,

transgendered people, and people with HIV or AIDS through impact

litigation, education and public policy work.