San Francisco to sue state over gay marriage ban

SAN FRANCISCO -- After sanctioning more than 2,800 gay marriages in the past week, the city said Thursday it is suing the state of California, challenging its ban on same-sex marriages on constitutional grounds.

Two judges already are considering challenges from conservative groups seeking to halt the marriage spree that began last Thursday.

The city's lawsuit asks that those cases be consolidated into one.

Mayor Gavin Newsom said he doesn't regret giving out marriage licenses before the city filed a legal challenge to the state's marriage laws, but added that he's glad the question is now in the courts.

"I think what we have done is affirm marriage here in San Francisco," Newsom said. "We affirmed it because we are celebrating people coming together in their unions. I feel affirmed as a married man by what's happened here in San Francisco."

A lawyer for a group trying to halt the gay marriages described the city's move as a delaying tactic.

"This is as much a maneuver to keep this in court and keep the issue alive as it is anything else," said Benjamin Bull, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

The city is asking Superior Court Judge James Warren to declare unconstitutional three sections of the California Family Code that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

City officials want the judge to determine if barring same-sex couples from marrying violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the state constitution.

On Tuesday, Warren gave the city the choice of ending the same-sex wedding march or returning to court in late March to show why the process has not been halted. The city said it would continue issuing such licenses until forced to stop.

Judge Ronald Quidachay is considering a lawsuit filed by another conservative group, the Campaign for California Families. He said Tuesday he was not prepared to issue a ruling, and scheduled another hearing for Friday.

Like the city, conservatives want the two cases consolidated into one, but they want Quidachay to hear it instead of Warren.