Gay Marriage is AnarchyPosted on 02/23/2004 10:01:37 PM PST by I_Love_My_Husband
By Adriel Hampton
Staff Writer
ahampton@examiner.com
Published on Monday, February 23, 2004
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Even as the wedding frenzy subsided for a weekend, the political war of words over San Francisco's same-sex nuptials escalated, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Gavin Newsom dueling on separate Sunday talk shows.
"Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licenses for assault weapons. And someone else hands out licenses for selling drugs," Schwarzenegger said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Later on CNN's "Late Edition," Newsom blasted back.
"It's not about AK-47s," he said. "It's not about these other hypotheticals. It's about human beings. It's about human dignity."
City Attorney Dennis Herrera's spokesman Matt Dorsey also downplayed the "municipal anarchy" analogy put forth by Schwarzenegger and other conservatives.
"Two separate courts have found that there is no harm in the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples," he said. "Presumably, the court would have found harm if the city was handing out assault weapons."
The media duel came as City Hall has returned to a sort of normalcy, closed for the weekend and with same-sex weddings now subject to the same reservation policies that apply to heterosexual marriages under the dome. Court victories and time have dampened the initial crush of hundreds of couples lining up for licenses.
The City on Friday beat back the second suit seeking an immediate halt to the weddings and Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay combined two suits by conservative lobbies and a suit filed Thursday by San Francisco against the state.
More than 3,000 homosexual couples have wed since County Clerk Nancy Alfaro on Feb. 12 acted on Newsom's request and began issuing marriage licenses to couples regardless of gender. Newsom contends that equal protections statues in the State Constitution override Family Code specifying marriage as between a man and a woman.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 29, frustrating the Liberty Counsel, which is suing on behalf of the Campaign for California Families.
"While the city contends they are simply following one part of the constitution by issuing the same-sex licenses, the mayor has filed legal documents stating he is not bound by other parts of the state constitution that says he cannot refuse to enforce state laws," Liberty Counsel President Mathew Staver said Friday in a prepared statement.
With the legal battle unfolding in the courtroom, the culture clash over gay marriage has also swept up Bethany United Methodist Church, whose congregation includes a large number of gay and lesbian couples.
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto, the church's leader for more than a decade, has married eight same-sex couples from her congregation since San Francisco began issuing licenses. She faces disciplinary action for a Feb. 15 ceremony in the sanctuary.
Sunday, Oliveto and more than 100 Methodists from churches around the Bay Area gathered to support gay marriage in the context of Newsom's move to license them. They sang hymns, then most stood behind Oliveto as she defended her actions.
Congregant Bruce Pettit, an eight-year member of the church, said about 50 people attended an early morning meeting to discuss the issue and were "100 percent" supportive of their reverend's actions.
"They are concerned for her future and the future of this church," he said.
Oliveto faces a meeting with the local bishop in early March after a Methodist leader from outside her church filed a complaint last week.
Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 people gathered in downtown San Francisco for a celebration of the same-sex marriages, including that of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, an elderly lesbian couple who were the first to wed earlier this month.
At the celebration at the Hyatt, Assemblyman Mark Leno chided Schwarzenegger for telling NBC that there were riots in San Francisco, and said legal precedent in Hawaii, Vermont, Massachusetts and Alaska shows San Francisco should be victorious in court.
"For [Schwarzenegger] to put out that kind of misinformation to America is really very, very sad, it's horrible, and he should apologize to the entire city for doing just that," Leno said.
Leno said conservatives are intent to stop gay marriage because successful long-term gay and lesbian unions will undercut their arguments.
On NBC, Schwarzenegger called for a swift legal resolution to the issue, and painted a vivid picture of chaos in San Francisco.
"When I was in San Francisco for the Republican convention, all of a sudden we see riots and we see protests and we see people clashing," Schwarzenegger said. "The next thing we know is there are injured or there are dead people, and we don't want to have that."
In reality, several protesters have clashed with couples waiting to wed, and one tried to put a gay man under citizen's arrest for carrying out the weddings.
Staff Writer Ethan Fletcher contributed to this report.
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There is a fundamental problem here in the US: There are people who know NOTHING about our system of laws. They courts are BS! CA voted on a LAW by the people. The courts have set themselves up as overlords and these people like Newsome go right along with it.
If there is someone who will prosecute them.
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