San Francisco resumes same-sex vows

Judge tells opposition groups to return next week; city weds 665 couples

? Despite accusations that the mayor is riding roughshod over the law, conservative groups failed to stop San Francisco from issuing same-sex marriage licenses Friday as hundreds more gay couples rushed to tie the knot before the opportunity slipped away.

All day long, the marble passages beneath City Hall’s ornate gold dome echoed with applause as one couple after another were wed, promising to be “spouses for life.”

By the time weary authorities closed up shop Friday, 665 same-sex couples had taken their vows over two days.

Gay couples received more good news when a judge denied a request by conservatives to immediately block the marriage spree and ordered attorneys to come back Tuesday and make their case. City officials, meanwhile, announced they would keep special weekend and Presidents Day hours to accommodate the crowds who have flocked to San Francisco from throughout California and other states.

While it remains unclear what practical value the marriage licenses will carry, their symbolism was evident.

Emboldened by the weddings and the prospect of the nation’s first legal same-sex marriages May 17 in Massachusetts, gay couples went to courthouses elsewhere throughout the nation Thursday and Friday to demand the right to marry. They were quickly turned away.

The San Francisco marriage spree began Thursday with Mayor Gavin Newsom’s blessing, drawing the ire of conservatives.

California law, as approved by the voters in 2000, defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman.

Same-sex couple Ruth Schneider, left, and Michele Johnson, both of Benicia, Calif., kiss while standing in a long line to turn in papers for a marriage license at City Hall in San Francisco. In a political challenge to California law, city authorities continued Friday to issue more same-sex marriage licenses.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state officials have avoided comment, but Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer’s spokeswoman did note that California’s constitution provided broader equal-protection rights than other states.

Across the country, other gay couples were turned away by court clerks as Thursday’s “National Freedom to Marry Day” protests continued into Friday. The protests have occurred every Feb. 12 since 1998.

In Richmond, Va., eight couples clutching pink “bride” and blue “groom” applications were denied licenses as legislators three blocks away debated a bill affirming Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriages.

They also protested in Ohio, where Gov. Bob Taft signed a law last week making it the 38th state to officially bar recognition of gay marriages and the second to deny benefits such as health insurance coverage to unmarried employees’ partners. The Ohio law is considered one of the most far-reaching bans in the country.