SF MAYOR MOVES TO GRANT MARRIAGE LICENSES TO GAY COUPLES: From the San Francisco Chronicle

Mayor Gavin Newsom told the county clerk Tuesday to investigate what San Francisco needs to do to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, an act that would contravene California law.

The newly elected Democrat said he wants all "forms and documents used to apply for and issue marriage licenses" to be revised by County Clerk Nancy Alfaro so they can be provided "on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to gender or sexual orientation." ...

If Newsom's request is honored and implemented within the short time he hopes, San Francisco would become, at least symbolically, the first place in the nation where gay and lesbian couples could wed. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has cleared the way for the state to start sanctioning marriages between same-sex couples as early as mid-May.

A spokesman for Newsom acknowledged that the mayor's request was an act of protest as well as public policy. State law explicitly defines marriage as an act between a man and a woman, a prerequisite Newsom considers "codified discrimination," said Peter Ragone, Newsom's spokesman. ...

At this point, however, it remains unclear whether the couples' marriage licenses would be worth the paper they're printed on, since marriage is a matter of state law.

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posted by Eve at 2:35 AM VOTE

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