Catholic opponents of same-sex marriage held a prayer march, criticising San Francisco city officials who have licensed thousands of weddings for gay couples and calling for a federal amendment banning the unions.

California’s attorney general has been ordered to “take immediate steps” to get a court ruling to put an end to same-sex marriages in San Francisco.

The feud between California Governor Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger escalated as the governor accused the actor’s handlers of engaging in “dirty tricks” by plotting to disrupt a Davis event.