Same-Sex Marriage To Commence In San Francisco

On February 12th, San Francisco defied their state legislation and began to allow the marriage of same-sex couples at City Hall. San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom, authorized the official wedding ceremonies and had plenty to say about the situation. "A little more than a month ago, I took the oath of office here at City Hall and swore to uphold California's Constitution, which clearly outlaws all forms of discrimination," Newsom said in the statement. "Denying basic rights to members of our community will not be tolerated." (BPNews) There were a number of couples that decided to take the leap and make their union official. The first ceremony of the day was between Del Martin, 83, and Phyllis Lyon, 79, at 11:10 a.m., which was performed by San Francisco Assessor, Mabel Teng. The two women have been partners for more than 50 years and are long-time gay/lesbian activists.

The state will be challenging these new marriage licenses in court and their actual legal value may be threatened, but for those who choose to acquire the piece of paper, they feel it symbolizes amazing merit in their stand for equality. The marriages are challenging a ballot that was approved in 2000 by California voters "that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman." Most likely, these licenses will be revoked, but only the courts of California can tell.