Fucking Austrians!
Schwarzenegger: City on 'dangerous path'
Saturday, February 21, 2004 Posted: 5:41 AM EST (1041 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/21/same.sex/index.html
Schwarzenegger: Certificates issued to same-sex couples do not meet state legal standards.
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.
Schwarzenegger addressed the issue at the state's Republican convention in Burlingame, Calif. just outside San Francisco.
"During my campaign, I talked about the importance of rule of law," he said Friday. "We rely upon our courts to enforce our rule of law, but we're seeing in San Francisco that the courts are dropping the ball.
"Today I have sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer asking him to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the state ... to resolve the issues underlying San Francisco's lawsuit against the state.
"While we wait for the courts to act, it's time for the City of San Francisco to start respecting state law. It is time for the city to stop traveling down this dangerous path of ignoring the rule of law."
For the second time this week, a judge Friday denied a request by conservative groups to issue a temporary restraining order against the city to stop it from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay Friday also ruled that the two lawsuits against the city -- and the city's lawsuit against the state, challenging the law banning same-sex marriage -- could be combined into one case.
The judge did not set a date for arguments to begin in the consolidated case, and did not indicate which judge might hear it.
Quidachay's decision means that the city can continue issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has done for the past eight days.
More than 3,000 couples have legalized their unions in San Francisco since Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the county clerk to begin issuing the same-sex marriage licenses February 12.
As the legal fray unfolded, the wedding ceremonies continued Friday at City Hall, where city workers ushered 100 more same-sex couples into the rotunda. Hundreds of other couples awaited their turns in a line that circled the building.
Lawsuits filed by the Campaign for California Families, the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund and other groups contend that the city's issuing of same-sex marriage licenses violates state law and should be stopped immediately.
Thursday, the city filed its own lawsuit, charging that a state law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman violates California's constitution.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the suit also names the petitioners that have filed lawsuits against the city.
The goal of the lawsuit, he said, is to ensure that the constitutionality question of gay and lesbian marriage is addressed by the courts.
Schwarzenegger posted a statement Thursday on his Web site saying that the marriage certificates issued to same-sex couples do not meet state legal standards that require that a marriage be between a man and a woman.
The certificates were changed to read "first applicant" and "second applicant" instead of "bride" and "groom."
"The attorney general has assured me that he will vigorously defend the constitutionality of the law in the case brought against the state by San Francisco," the governor's statement said.
The mayor's views on same-sex marriage run counter to those of President Bush, who has argued for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that marriage must be between a man and a woman.
"He's trying to promulgate a separate and unequal status," Newsom told a reporter Thursday. "He's talking about changing the Constitution of the United States. It is hardly consistent with his compassionate conservatism. So, I guess I'm honored to engage in any discourse on this subject."
Newsom has said his obligation to follow non-discriminatory practices trumps that statute.
--CNN Correspondents Rusty Dornin and David Mattingly contributed to this story
Schwarzenegger: City on 'dangerous path'
Saturday, February 21, 2004 Posted: 5:41 AM EST (1041 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/21/same.sex/index.html
Schwarzenegger: Certificates issued to same-sex couples do not meet state legal standards.
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.
Schwarzenegger addressed the issue at the state's Republican convention in Burlingame, Calif. just outside San Francisco.
"During my campaign, I talked about the importance of rule of law," he said Friday. "We rely upon our courts to enforce our rule of law, but we're seeing in San Francisco that the courts are dropping the ball.
"Today I have sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer asking him to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the state ... to resolve the issues underlying San Francisco's lawsuit against the state.
"While we wait for the courts to act, it's time for the City of San Francisco to start respecting state law. It is time for the city to stop traveling down this dangerous path of ignoring the rule of law."
For the second time this week, a judge Friday denied a request by conservative groups to issue a temporary restraining order against the city to stop it from issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay Friday also ruled that the two lawsuits against the city -- and the city's lawsuit against the state, challenging the law banning same-sex marriage -- could be combined into one case.
The judge did not set a date for arguments to begin in the consolidated case, and did not indicate which judge might hear it.
Quidachay's decision means that the city can continue issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has done for the past eight days.
More than 3,000 couples have legalized their unions in San Francisco since Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the county clerk to begin issuing the same-sex marriage licenses February 12.
As the legal fray unfolded, the wedding ceremonies continued Friday at City Hall, where city workers ushered 100 more same-sex couples into the rotunda. Hundreds of other couples awaited their turns in a line that circled the building.
Lawsuits filed by the Campaign for California Families, the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund and other groups contend that the city's issuing of same-sex marriage licenses violates state law and should be stopped immediately.
Thursday, the city filed its own lawsuit, charging that a state law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman violates California's constitution.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the suit also names the petitioners that have filed lawsuits against the city.
The goal of the lawsuit, he said, is to ensure that the constitutionality question of gay and lesbian marriage is addressed by the courts.
Schwarzenegger posted a statement Thursday on his Web site saying that the marriage certificates issued to same-sex couples do not meet state legal standards that require that a marriage be between a man and a woman.
The certificates were changed to read "first applicant" and "second applicant" instead of "bride" and "groom."
"The attorney general has assured me that he will vigorously defend the constitutionality of the law in the case brought against the state by San Francisco," the governor's statement said.
The mayor's views on same-sex marriage run counter to those of President Bush, who has argued for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that marriage must be between a man and a woman.
"He's trying to promulgate a separate and unequal status," Newsom told a reporter Thursday. "He's talking about changing the Constitution of the United States. It is hardly consistent with his compassionate conservatism. So, I guess I'm honored to engage in any discourse on this subject."
Newsom has said his obligation to follow non-discriminatory practices trumps that statute.
--CNN Correspondents Rusty Dornin and David Mattingly contributed to this story
