Same-Sex Marriage Licenses No Longer Issued in County
Suits file measure's passage
Updated 6:13 PM PST, Thu, Nov 6, 2008
One day after the passage of Proposition 8, San Diego's County clerk announced he would no longer issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
County Clerk Gregory Smith said officials also stopped conducting ceremonies for gays and lesbians.
"We have stopped, based on direction from the county counsel and the governor," Smith told the North County Times.
Smith added that same-sex couples who requested licenses prior to Wednesday, but had not conducted marriage ceremonies, would not have their marriages validated. Up until Election Day, Smith said the officers were jam packed.
"It was like having Valentine's Day everyday. We had about a 44 percent increase in workload," Smith said.
The county saw a 76 percent increase in the number of civil ceremonies performed in October of 2008 compared to October of 2007 -- something they say is a result of same sex couples rushing to get hitched.
As news of the proposition's passage by 52 percent was announced Wednesday, opponents filed suit. California Attorney General Jerry Brown says ultimately the future of gay marriage could be decided by the state supreme court, where challenges are already mounting against the new law, including one by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU is arguing that such sweeping changes should need more than just a simple majority to become law.
"You need to go through a more sustained amendment process, go thru the state legislature, do a constitutional convention," said David Blair-Loy, the Legal Director of ACLU in San Diego and Imperial Counties.
One excerpt from the lawsuit said, "Proposition 8 is invalid because it would constitute a constitutional revision, not a constitutional amendment and, as such, the California Constitution provides that it may not be enacted by initiative."
Meanwhile, proponents of Proposition 8 celebrated, including former Charger Miles McPherson, Pastor at the Rock Church.
McPherson said he wasn't surprised his side was victorious, since marriage between a man and a woman, "is just right."
Copyright NCTimes / NBC San Diego
First Published: Nov 6, 2008 10:11 AM PST
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