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California asks state Supreme Court to stop gay marriages
San Francisco, Feb 28: California`s attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to stop San Francisco immediately from performing same-sex weddings and invalidate the thousands of marriages already conducted.
San Francisco, Feb 28: California's attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to stop San Francisco immediately from performing same-sex weddings and invalidate the thousands of marriages already conducted.
In a petition filed yesterday afternoon, Democratic attorney general Bill Lockyer also urged the Justices to take the case away from two lower courts and force the famously liberal city to stop the weddings while the legal battle plays out.
The two lower courts, which are considering lawsuits from conservative groups seeking to end the same-sex weddings that have sparked a national debate over the issue, have allowed the marriages to continue as the cases proceed.
Yet Lockyer said California law clearly defines marriage as between a man and woman and said the state's highest court should invalidate the more than 3,400 same-sex marriage licenses that have been issued.
''A definitive resolution by this court of the fundamental constitutional questions involved would provide much-needed certainty and guidance to lower courts and the public,'' Lockyer said in the 43-page petition.
The Justices asked lawyers representing San Francisco to file a brief by March 5 on the attorney general's request for an immediate stay of the marriages. The Supreme Court will likely not decide whether to take up the case until sometime after that deadline, a court spokeswoman said.
The petition also comes on the same day a small-town New York Mayor married some two dozen gay couples in the first such ceremonies in that state and after Massachusetts' top court last year ordered lawmakers to allow such weddings by mid-may.
Local officials have also wed same-sex couples in New Mexico following San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to order his city to begin issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians in defiance of state law on February 12.
Since then, more than 3,400 same-sex couples including comedian Rosie O'Donnell have tied the knot in the city.
The fight over gay marriage has also become a hot political issue in an election year. President George W. Bush said a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage was needed to prevent a weakening of ''the good influence of society.''
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, recently elected in a recall election, also opposes the nuptials that contradict a 2000 voter-approved state law defining marriage as a union of man and woman and had asked the Democratic attorney general to stop the same-sex weddings. Bureau Report
The two lower courts, which are considering lawsuits from conservative groups seeking to end the same-sex weddings that have sparked a national debate over the issue, have allowed the marriages to continue as the cases proceed.
Yet Lockyer said California law clearly defines marriage as between a man and woman and said the state's highest court should invalidate the more than 3,400 same-sex marriage licenses that have been issued.
''A definitive resolution by this court of the fundamental constitutional questions involved would provide much-needed certainty and guidance to lower courts and the public,'' Lockyer said in the 43-page petition.
The Justices asked lawyers representing San Francisco to file a brief by March 5 on the attorney general's request for an immediate stay of the marriages. The Supreme Court will likely not decide whether to take up the case until sometime after that deadline, a court spokeswoman said.
The petition also comes on the same day a small-town New York Mayor married some two dozen gay couples in the first such ceremonies in that state and after Massachusetts' top court last year ordered lawmakers to allow such weddings by mid-may.
Local officials have also wed same-sex couples in New Mexico following San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to order his city to begin issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians in defiance of state law on February 12.
Since then, more than 3,400 same-sex couples including comedian Rosie O'Donnell have tied the knot in the city.
The fight over gay marriage has also become a hot political issue in an election year. President George W. Bush said a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage was needed to prevent a weakening of ''the good influence of society.''
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, recently elected in a recall election, also opposes the nuptials that contradict a 2000 voter-approved state law defining marriage as a union of man and woman and had asked the Democratic attorney general to stop the same-sex weddings. Bureau Report