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 San Francisco made history when longtime lesbian activists Del Martin, 83, and Phyllis Lyon, 79, were officially married at on February 12th in a ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. They have been together for more than 51 years. Dozens of other same-sex couples stood in line behind them waiting for their turn to tie the knot. It will be the day in San Francisco history, the day that the city's marriage-license application was altered to allow same-sex couples to file.  Mayor Gavin Newsom, who coordinated the weddings, was quoted as saying, "It's a good day in San Francisco." Newsom instructed the county clerk's office two days earlier to make the preparations and distribute the licenses."A little more than a month ago I took the oath of office here at City Hall and swore to uphold California's Constitution which clearly outlaws all forms of discrimination," Newsom said. "Denying basic rights to members of our community will not be tolerated. California's Constitution is clear: discrimination is immoral, it is illegal and it is antithetical to our most cherished values: liberty and freedom. Today a barrier to true justice has been removed. A barrier removed for one person is a barrier removed for us all." Lawsuits to fight these actions are already in the works. Conservatives claim that same-sex marriage violates Prop 22, which defines marriage as "a union of a man and a woman." Additionally, they label the events as a "publicity stunt" and at least two conservative groups announced that they would seek an injunction to put a stop to the new licenses. Liberty Counsel President Mat Staver said, "Mayor Newsom has no more right to do what he is doing than he does to secede the State of California from the Union."  Assemblyman Mark Leno, who sponsored the bill, disagrees, saying that Prop 22 specifically prohibits California from acknowledging same-sex marriages performed outside the state.A statement released by Lambda Legal late Thursday, February 12th says that it is ready to fight anyone opposing same-sex marriage. "If anti-gay groups take the government to court tomorrow or in the days ahead, we intend to take any legal action necessary to make sure marriage licenses continue to be issued," said Lambda. The city of San Francisco has sued the state of California over its prohibition of the same-sex marriages. The Associated Press reported City Attorney Dennis Herrera said San Francisco was "going on the offensive" to counter two challenges from conservative groups seeking to halt the marriages. As of February 20th, San Francisco had granted close to 3000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Meanwhile, a same-sex couple in Los Angeles applied for a marriage license and was rejected.
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