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<p>State Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Saturday rebuffed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's demand that he force an end to San Francisco's same-sex marriages, calling the directive political rhetoric.</p> <p>"The governor can direct the Highway Patrol. He can direct the next 'Terminator 4' movie if he chooses. But he can't direct the attorney general in the way he's attempted to do," Lockyer said, adding that Schwarzenegger's written directive "was a statement designed for consumption at the Republican convention."</p>

Newsom marries lesbian high-ranking politician Daily Journal Wire Report SAN FRANCISCO — As gay marriages continued throughout San Francisco City Hall Friday and protesters held signs and shouted outside, a private ceremony marrying a high-ranking lesbian politician and her partner took place in the mayor’s office. Surrounded by friends and family, state Board of Equalization Chairwoman Carol Migden and her partner, criminal defense attorney Cristina Arguedas were married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Migden had just finished officiating a marriage on the steps of the City Hall rotunda when she led a crowd of well-wishers up to the...

<p>BURLINGAME, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to rally Republicans around his controversial ballot initiative while also giving conservatives the tough talk against gay marriage that they had been seeking.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger brought cheering activists at the state Republican convention to their feet Friday night with his announcement that he had directed Attorney General Bill Lockyer to take immediate legal steps to stop San Francisco from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.</p>

Arnold Schwarzenegger has banned gay weddings in San Francisco because they present a "risk to civil order". The Governor of California has intervened after a second Superior Court judge refused to stop same-sex weddings, writing a letter to the state's attorney general to take "immediate steps" to halt the marriages. Mr Schwarzenegger wrote that because city's actions "are directly contrary to state law and present an imminent risk to civil order, I hereby direct you to take immediate steps to obtain a definite judicial resolution of this controversy." In a speech to California's state Republican Party convention, Schwarzenegger said he...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — He's been called a renegade and a rogue, a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party's presidential ambitions. Enemies are calling for his political head and old allies are keeping a noticeable distance. Yet what really matters to Mayor Gavin Newsom is what they're saying in the neighborhoods of San Francisco — that his decision to buck California law and grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples makes him a hero. "At the end of the day I sleep well, and in life there is nothing more important than that," Newsom said Saturday during...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has warned San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger addressed the issue at the state's Republican convention in Burlingame, Calif. just outside San Francisco.</p>

California Gay Marriages in Legal Limbo 2 hours, 11 minutes ago By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - Many of the more than 3,000 same-sex couples who obtained marriage licenses from the city said getting married was among the most joyous events in their lives. But because of legal uncertainty and political controversy, the certificates don't appear to be worth much more than sentimental value at this point. Until the legal fog lifts, businesses being contacted by gays and lesbians seeking new benefits probably won't acknowledge their marriages. Corporate counsels, employment law consultants and human resource departments already...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has told the state's attorney general to to take "immediate steps" to stop gay marriages, according to reports.Thousands of gay couples have been married in San Francisco after Mayor Gavin Newsom lifted a ban on such marriages last week. And a second Superior Court judge has also refused to stop same-sex weddings in the city. Mr Schwarzenegger is said to have sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer saying San Francisco's actions "are directly contrary to state law and present an imminent risk to civil order". "I hereby direct you to take immediate steps to...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has told his top legal official to act against the city of San Francisco for allowing gay marriages. He ordered the state's attorney-general to take immediate steps to get a court ruling against the same-sex weddings.Mr Schwarzenegger said they represented "an imminent risk to civil order". More than 3,000 gay couples have been married in San Francisco since the city's new mayor decided to defy state law and allow such weddings. On Friday, a judge denied a request by the conservative group, Campaign for California Families, for an injunction halting the same-sex marriages. He said the...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's attorney general will go to court as soon as possible to defend a state law defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. A lawsuit could pit the state against the city of San Francisco, which has sanctioned thousands of same-sex weddings since just before the Feb. 14 Valentine's Day weekend. "We think it's very important to have this issue resolved as quickly as possible for the people of California, as well as for the couples who have obtained these marriage licenses," Hallye Jordan, a spokeswoman for...

Burlingame - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has waded deeper into the debate over same-sex marriages, directing the state attorney general to take immediate legal steps to stop San Francisco from granting marriage licenses to gay couples. Schwarzenegger told a cheering crowd at the state Republican convention that "in San Francisco, the courts are dropping the ball." "It's time for the city to stop travelling down this dangerous path of ignoring the rule of law. That's my message to San Francisco," he said. . San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom last week decided to grant same-sex couples marriage licenses, making the city the...

<p>California's top Democrats scrambled Thursday to defuse same-sex marriage as a political wedge issue that could cause them problems at the polls in November.</p> <p>As a new statewide poll showed that half of Californians oppose same-sex marriage and hinted of potential difficulties among Democratic and independent voters, key California Democratic officeholders began to express doubts about same-sex marriage, and some were openly unhappy the matter had become an object of national politics in a campaign year.</p>

<p>REP. Barney Frank is telling friends he will run for John Kerry's U.S. Senate seat if Kerry is elected president. In an effort to expand his constituency for this run, the openly gay congressman has distanced himself from the lesbian and gay "community" by blasting San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for ignoring state law and issuing marriage licenses. Frank says the outlaw weddings are "a diversion" from the "real struggle." Gay activists, who consider Newsom a hero, now vow to work against Frank. Says one activist, "Frank seems more concerned with getting himself elected to higher office then about the struggle to achieve equality. We shall extract revenge for this act of betrayal."</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered California's attorney general Friday to take legal action to stop San Francisco from granting marriage licenses to gay couples.</p> <p>In a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Schwarzenegger directed the state's top lawyer "to take immediate steps" to get a definitive court ruling declaring the city's actions to be illegal.</p>

That's what it says now. Discuss amongst yourselves...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered California's attorney general Friday to take legal action to stop San Francisco from granting marriage licenses to gay couples.</p> <p>In a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Schwarzenegger directed the state's top lawyer "to take immediate steps" to get a definitive court ruling declaring what the city is doing to be illegal.</p>

Feb 21, 12:12 AM (ET) By BETH FOUHY (AP) Same-sex couples line a stairway while waiting in a long line for a marriage license at City Hall...Full Image   BURLINGAME, Calif. (AP) - After a judge Friday declined to put an immediate end to same-sex marriages in San Francisco, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered California's attorney general Friday to "take immediate steps" to get a court ruling to make the city stop. Schwarzenegger's directive to Attorney General Bill Lockyer was prompted in part by the judge's decision not to impose a temporary restraining order that would have halted San Francisco's weeklong...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Gay and lesbian couples won another reprieve Friday when a judge declined to immediately stop San Francisco from granting them marriage licenses, saying conservative groups failed to prove the weddings would cause irreparable harm.

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- As conservative groups returned to court in hopes of halting this city's same-sex marriage spree, Mayor Gavin Newsom remained defiant, officiating Friday at the wedding of one of California's most prominent lesbian politicians inside his offices at City Hall.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - With the city of San Francisco still handing out marriage licenses to homosexual couples, allegedly in violation of the state constitution, a statewide voter-passed referendum and court order, there is growing pressure for the state's elected officials to get involved. But as of Thursday, a spokeswoman for California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the governor was still content to let the issue play out in the courts. "[Schwarzenegger] continues to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. And with regard to what is going on in San Francisco, he is hoping that the...