San Francisco ? The party still had its traditional leather-clad legions and dramatic drag queens, but Sunday’s gay pride parade featured marchers even more radical — married same-sex couples.

Gay and lesbian newlyweds hoisting poster-sized reproductions of their marriage licenses had a starring role at San Francisco’s 34th annual parade. They were joined by Mayor Gavin Newsom and others who helped promote same-sex unions in the history-making wedding march earlier this year at City Hall.

“Today we’re celebrating what makes San Francisco right, which is the diversity. It’s a very empowering experience,” said Newsom, a 36-year-old Democrat.

San Francisco issued more than 4,000 marriage licenses earlier this year before the state Supreme Court intervened. The court is expected to rule on the validity of those licenses this summer.

“Equality has always been a part of (the parade). This is just the next evolution,” said Teddy Witherington, executive director of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade Committee. “Ultimately, the parade is about who we are and who we love, so the message is central to our community.”

Floats featuring couples in wedding finery followed Newsom and San Francisco Assessor Mabel Teng. The parade got rolling behind a contingent of Dykes on Bikes, with some of the motorcycle-riding lesbians wearing veils.

While Massachusetts became the only U.S. state to legally recognize gay marriages last month following a ruling by its Supreme Judicial Court, gay pride revelers said they expect New York and other states to follow suit.

With Congress set to vote within weeks on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, the issue received prominent treatment at gay pride parades nationwide.

Other cities with crowd-drawing parades Sunday included Atlanta, Seattle and New York, where gay pride parade-goers danced down Fifth Avenue and waved rainbow flags in celebration.

Recently married same-sex couples, from left, Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, and Ellen Pontac and Shelly Bailes ride a float in the 34th annual Gay Pride Parade down Market Street in San Francisco. Gay pride parades were conducted Sunday in several major U.S. cities.

The Manhattan parade featured marching bands, politicians including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and, as always, plenty of men wearing G-strings and towering heels.

Officially called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March, the parade commemorates the Stonewall uprising of 1969, when gay bar patrons resisted a police raid.

In Georgia, where the Legislature is considering a measure to outlaw not only marriage but any spousal rights for gays and lesbians, the mood was defiant.

“Every year, we see T-shirts, banners and myriad other implements touting the political messages and wants of a richly diverse community,” said Donna Narducci, executive director of Atlanta Pride. “I have a feeling we will outdo ourselves this year in the message department.”