Tuesday, Jun. 17, 2008

Same-sex couples begin to tie knot

Stanislaus starts today; Monteith, DeMartini join legal challenge in capital

SACRAMENTO -- At the stroke of 5 p.m. Monday, gay and lesbian couples across California had a moment to savor: At long last, they could legally wed.

From Woodland to San Francisco to Beverly Hills, dozens of same-sex couples, with hundreds more expected today, exchanged "I do's" in court- sanctioned ceremonies.

Ellen Pontac wore purple and her partner, now her spouse, wore black when they exchanged rings.

Yolo County Clerk-Recorder Freddie Oakley asked each if they took the other as her wife, and both said "I do." With that, Oakley pronounced the couple married.

"We've been waiting a very, very long time," said Pontac.

While Stanislaus and most other counties waited until this morning to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Yolo County, west of Sacramento County, and several others began performing ceremonies at 5:01 p.m.

The Yolo clerk's office extended its hours to marry 10 couples through 8 p.m. Monday, while about 10 protesters voiced displeasure outside the office in Woodland.

In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom officiated over the nuptials of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, the octogenarian couple who were the first to be married four years ago when Newsom unilaterally began issuing same-sex marriage licenses. A court soon ordered him to stop.

On Monday, Lyon and Martin were remarried amid clashes between opposing sides of the same-sex marriage debate. Hundreds swarmed the grounds of San Francisco City Hall, toting signs and shouting each other down.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a civil rights movement," said Thomas Parker of Yuba County, a student at California State University, Chico.

Luke Otterstad, 22, arrived from Sacramento to protest gay marriages in San Francisco.

"I'm here to remind this city of God's law," he said.

While Monday provided a day of celebration for advocates of gay and lesbian rights, opponents said they were gearing up for a five-month campaign to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

In November, voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.

"We're very optimistic that the voters of California will tell the courts what they mean when marriage is between a man and a woman," said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council.

Also Monday, opponents of gay marriage petitioned a Sacramento County judge Monday to bar the use of gender-neutral forms, a last-minute bid to prevent same-sex marriages.

A hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today before Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette.

The petition, signed by a handful of supervisors, including Stanislaus County's Jim DeMartini and Richard Monteith, contends that the state Department of Health's Office of Vital Records was not authorized to issue the forms without legislative action. Supervisors representing Yuba, Sutter and Nevada counties also were involved.

Instead of "bride" and "groom," the forms refer to "Party A" and "Party B." The petition argues that using the new forms would raise questions about the validity of those marriage licenses and "may lead to decades of litigation."

Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, dismissed the same-sex unions "as false marriages," but urged opponents not to be "discouraged."

"Personally, I'm not for homosexual marriage, but that's not the issue. We are trying to delay this until people have a chance to vote," said Monteith, who added that he is not acting as a county supervisor, but a citizen who happens to be a supervisor.

Petitioners banded together to discourage granting marriage licenses because they think the Supreme Court was out of line when it gave the green light, DeMartini said.

"The power to do this rests with the Legislature or the people themselves. I can live-and-let-live as far as gay marriage goes, but we should see if the ballot initiative passes or fails first," he said.

If the right for gays to wed is overturned, it could cause confusion among those who married in the meantime, DeMartini and Monteith said.

"Then are those marriages legal? Are they nullified? I'm concerned about the problems it could create for the county," Monteith said.

Bee staff writer Eve Hightower can be reached at ehightower@modbee.com or 578-2382.