Top Stories of 2004: Frisco's Mayor Trumps State, Places Order for Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

by Jody Brown
December 21, 2004

(AgapePress) - A pro-family group in California has filed a lawsuit against the mayor of San Francisco for ordering the county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Almost four years ago, the citizens of California voted into law a Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom -- with just two months under his belt as head of that city's government -- apparently has no plans to abide by that mandate. On Tuesday, Newsom ordered County Clerk Nancy Alfaro to change the marriage license form so that licenses can be issued to homosexual couples.

Alfaro responded that she will work "diligently" to make the change so that same-sex marriage licenses can be issued within one week. And a spokesman for the mayor says Newsom plans on presiding over the first same-sex marriage ceremony in the county.

Needless to say, pro-family groups are challenging Newsom's right to order such a change, even though the mayor says he is acting pursuant to his "sworn duty to uphold the California Constitution." One of those groups is Campaign for California, which filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Newsom and Alfaro. The suit was filed by Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based group, whose president and general counsel, Mat Staver, says what the San Francisco mayor did is "reprehensible" as well as illegal.

Mat Staver

"Mayor Newsom has lost his mind," Staver says. "[He] obviously believes he is above the law [the DOMA passed in March 2000]. We are a nation ruled by law, not by power hungry, renegade, radical activists." The Liberty Counsel attorney also calls Newsom's move "the latest attempt to advance his radical gay agenda."

Newsom does have a history of pro-homosexual activism. A press release from Liberty Counsel notes that Newsom was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1998 when that board condemned pro-family groups for "hateful rhetoric against gays, lesbians, and trans-gendered people." The groups had been distributing the message that homosexuality is wrong and is a choice that people can change. In addition, the 1998 resolution stated that pro-family speech was responsible for the death of Matthew Shepard and leads to hate crimes.

"Government officials, including even the mayor of San Francisco, must obey the law," Staver says. "Such blatant disregard for the will of the people of California cannot go unpunished."

Randy Thomasson

Randy Thomasson, executive director of the Campaign for California Families, says Newsom is usurping the state's authority. "When Mayor Newsom raised his right hand and swore to uphold the law, he either lied or didn't do his homework," Thomasson says. "Newsom's out-of-control behavior shows he is pandering to special interests like [former Governor] Gray Davis did.

"San Francisco can't make state law -- that is the job of the sovereign state of California."

In addition, two pro-family attorneys in the Golden State are chiming in, saying Newsom is out of bounds. Noting that Californians have already affirmed how marriage should be defined, Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute calls the mayor's order "an egregious breach of the public trust as well as state law."

And Richard Ackerman of Lively & Ackerman, which is assisting Liberty Counsel in litigating CCF's case, says the California Family Code could not be more clear: marriage in that state is limited to a man and a woman. "San Francisco is trying to turn California upside down on this issue," Ackerman says. "Mayor Newsom's act is completely unlawful."

Thomasson points out that this lawsuit comes at the same time that his organization is trying to raise public awareness about a homosexual "marriage" license bill sponsored by State Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco.