San Francisco Gay “Marriages” Officially Challenged
SAN FRANCISCO --In a direct challenge to Federal and State law, the mayor of San Francisco opened the city hall to homosexuals on Thursday, Feb. 13. Since then, the city sanctioned more than 2,600 homosexual “marriages,” and dared to “sue” the state of California for violating the state’s equal protection clause.
Today, upon the indignation of the conservative pro-family group Campaign for California Families (CCF), the monumental decision regarding the legal legitimacy of homosexual union will appear from the San Francisco county supreme court. The CCF have been granted a hearing at 2:00 pm, Friday, before the San Francisco’s Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay, at which the group and its legal representative, the Liberty Council, will attempt to get an injunction to halt Major Newsom’s civil disobedience, and void the past “marriage” licenses issued to the scores of gay couples.
Although Newsom argues that the state’s equal protection law allows same sex marriages, Proposition 22, a law approved in 2000 by California voters, explicitly restricts marriage to heterosexual couples. The measure passed with support from about 60 percent of those who voted on the initiative.
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"There's no question that state law holds that marriage is for a man and a woman, as it should be,” CCF’s Randy Thomasson said.
In addition to the CCF, the ADF have also been granted a “cease and desist” order telling the city to either stop the marriages or return to court on March 29 to explain why it should not.
Meanwhile, in Washington, President Bush warned the San Francisco city officials that he is following the situation “very carefully.”
The president, who said several times that he may seek or endorse a constitutional amendment making such unions illegal, told reporters at the White House that "these events are influencing my decision."
"I strongly believe that marriage should be defined as [a union] between a man and a woman. I am troubled by activist judges who are defining marriage," he said on Wednesday.
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also spoke out on the issue, and urged the city to halt the illegal unions.
"I support that law and encourage San Francisco officials to obey that law. The courts should act quickly to resolve this matter," Schwarzenegger said.
Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families – a conservative group based in Massachusetts, however, called for a stronger voice from Bush, as well as other elected officials who say they are pro-family.
“What America needs immediately is strong moral clarity,” said Bauer. "What more do we need to see?"
"As repugnant as I find what they are doing, I am in awe of their boldness on behalf of a bad cause," Bauer said of the San Francisco city officials.
"I cannot help but compare it to the timidity of our own leaders on behalf of a noble cause, the preservation of marriage as the union of only one man and one woman,” he continued.
This battle can be won and should be won," he urged pro-family leaders. "but we will prevail only if those who will be avidly seeking our votes in a few months quit stalling and start vigorously defending our values. If they don't, history will judge them accordingly."
Currently, the American Family Association in Mississippi gathered more than one million signatures for a petition calling for a federal constitutional amendment barring gay marriage.
The petition, which states, “Traditional marriage between a man and woman is the God-ordained building block of the family and bedrock of a civil society. Therefore, I urge your support of a federal marriage amendment to protect traditional marriage between one woman and one man,” can be found on the website: www.nogaymarriage.com.
