Schwarzenegger urged to arrest S.F. mayor

bushcountry.org ^ | 02-17-04

[PaulaB]

A Christian legal group wants California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to arrest the mayor of San Francisco for issuing nearly 2,000 marriage licenses to homosexual couples in defiance of state law.

The American Family Association Center for Law and Policy called Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to oversee the nation's first officially sanctioned same-sex weddings Thursday "an arrogant stunt" proving "the radical homosexual movement will trample the rights of all who stand in their way."

The AFA's law center wrote Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Bill Lockyer Friday insisting the mayor not only violated civil law, but criminal law as well.

Schwarzenegger and other state officials have remained silent on the issue.

The letter cites California's penal code Section 115, which "prohibits the knowing procurement of any false or forged instrument to be filed or recorded in any public office."

The penalty for the felony, the letter notes, is up to three years in prison. The AFA says this means three years for each false certificate issued.

With the clerk's office kept open over the weekend, more than 1,700 same-sex couples have been issued licenses since Thursday, when the city became the site of the first officially sanctioned "gay marriage" in American history.

Opponents of same-sex marriage are confident they will convince San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay to issue a temporary restraining order after a hearing this morning.

The motion filed on behalf of the pro-family lobby group Campaign for California Families by the public-interest firms Lively & Ackerman and Liberty Counsel presents an "irrefutable argument" that Newsom and Clerk Nancy Alfaro had no authority to redefine marriage in direct conflict with California law, asserted the group's president and general counsel Mathew Staver.

"The rule of law will be restored in California," Staver said. "The mayor and the clerk have no right to act as tyrants, ruling San Francisco as their personal dictatorship."

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund sought an emergency hearing Friday afternoon but was rejected for failing to give defendants the 24-hours notice required by law.

A hearing in ADF's lawsuit also will be held today.

Newsom argues homosexuals should be able to marry based on the California Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The 36-year-old mayor, who began his term Jan. 8, insists he merely is fulfilling his duty.

"I'm not interested as a mayor in moving forward with a separate but unequal process for people to engage in marriages," Newsom said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "The people of this city and certainly around the state are feeling that separate but unequal doesn't make sense."

But the Alliance Defense Fund – representing state Sen. William Knight, author of a successful state ballot-measure that limited marriage to a man and a woman – argues the San Francisco County Clerk has no authority under the state's constitution to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"This isn't civil disobedience on the mayor's part; its sheer unfettered anarchy and complete disdain for the rule of law," ADF chief counsel Benjamin Bull said. "No mayor, not even the mayor of San Francisco, has the authority to defy the laws of the state in which they reside."

The statutes under the family code specify marriage is reserved to a man and a woman, and Bull points out no court has declared that section to be unconstitutional.

"Officials charged with solemnizing marriages must enforce those statutes on constitutional grounds when issuing marriage licenses, regardless of what [Mayor] Newsom orders them to do," said Bull.

[PaulaB]

Who does this mayor think he is anyway?

[blanknoone]

It'll never happen, but I would love to see the mayor go to jail. Arguements could be made for other officials as well as the 'couples' getting married, but I'd be more than satisfied if the mayor went to jail.

[Kenton]

Who does this mayor think he is anyway?

Mayor of a city where the majority of the population either supports gay marriage or are to intimidated by political correctness run amok to be very vocal in their opposition to it.

Mayors tend to pander to the voting base that elected them, after all...

[TonyWojo]

Waste of time. It's not like the DA (his wife) will prosecute anyway.

[Charles Martel]

Would that not be the State Attorney General's task?

[dmzTahoe]

I would love to see a mayor in another California city, even a small city, start issuing Concealed Carry Weapons permits to anyone applying... Then we would see everyone, especially the liberal media, calling for tat mayor's arrest.

[GiveEmDubya]

Well so far, Arnold has been full of surprises. It probably wouldn't help him out if he had Newsom arrested, but the drama would be priceless.

[talleyman]

"Laws are for other people"

[11th_VA]

Wasn't Gavin Newsom the 'conservative' in the mayoral election? So glad the lib didn't win ...

[Cicero]

Never happen. Arnold ran as a fiscal conservative, but never claimed to be a social conservative. He openly favors abortion and gay rights. He's not about to offend the gay constituency.

The best we can hope of him is that he will balance the budget, help move California back into the Republican column, and keep quiet about his social views.

[TexasCajun]

Who does this mayor think he is anyway?

Fudge-Packing Homosexual High Priest of the Homosexual capital, San Fransisco.

The liberal media never address how deviant, nasty, filthy anal intercourse and anal worship is among homosexual men.
"...is that corn you had for dinner last night?"

[Squantos]

Good Point.......Stay Safe !

[Dog Anchor]

I think there should be as many "marriages" licensed in San Francisco as possible. And then they need to be nullified and maybe then the anarchists will know how it feels on the recieving end.

[claudiustg]

If no one will take action against the mayor, how will a constitutional amendment help?

[AmericanInTokyo]

How about a citizen's arrest or class action lawsuit.

[Rennes Templar]

Exactly. We need several mayors to start issuing proscribed licenses.

[azcap]

I want find a mayor to issue me a California Condor hunting license. Thanksgiving dinner will never be the same!

[SunStar]

Link to original letter from AFA to California Officials:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1079433/posts

[dmanLA]

This is all Arnold's got to say?!?! What a wimp!

---

ARNIE URGES END TO GAY-WED BLITZ

February 18, 2004 -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last night called for San Francisco to terminate its ongoing gay-marriage marathon.
"Californians spoke on the issue of same-sex marriage when they overwhelmingly approved California's law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. I support that law, and I encourage San Francisco officials to obey that law," the former actor said.

It was the first time Schwarzenegger weighed in on the controversy since San Francisco's new mayor last week ordered city officials to lift the ban on gay marriages there, a move that openly defies the state's Proposition 22.

Schwarzenegger has said he opposes gay marriage but supports domestic partnerships.

Conservatives have gone to court to argue that San Francisco is violating the state's constitution. A judge yesterday delayed ruling on the case until at least Friday.

David K. Li

[SunStar]

Wasn't Gavin Newsom the 'conservative' in the mayoral election? So glad the lib didn't win ...

No, he is the Democrat, and his opponent was a Green.

So, liberal vs. Communist.