Hundreds of gays queue up to say 'I do'

Hundreds of same-sex marriages kept San Francisco City Hall offices open and buzzing through the weekend, with gay and lesbian couples waiting hours to exchange vows and conservative activists promising a relentless legal challenge.

By last night, dozens of gay and lesbian couples were lined up outside City Hall, insisting they would camp there all night to be at the front of the line when offices re-opened today.

Since San Francisco officials began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples last week, hundreds of gays and lesbians have wed, many rushing to California from around the country.

City Hall was kept open through the weekend, and yesterday the queue of would-be spouses grew so overwhelming that authorities turned away hundreds of waiting couples.

Despite the President’s Day holiday today, the controversy was expected to continue – along with the weddings.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defence Fund sued to block the same-sex unions, and San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren has scheduled a hearing tomorrow in the case.

A second legal challenge filed by a California group is also scheduled for a court hearing tomorrow. More than 1,000 marriage licences have been issued to same-sex couples since Thursday, although some may choose to wait before actually getting married.

Hundreds have already gone before city officials to exchange vows and be declared “spouses for life,” often in ceremonies scattered around the interior of the ornate City Hall.

New Mayor Gavin Newsom touched off the wedding spree by ordering officials to issue licences to same-sex couples, declaring that he was merely ensuring equal treatment of gays and lesbians. Newsom later officiated personally at the weddings of his chief of staff and policy director, both of whom married their longtime partners.

Critics have pointed to a ballot initiative approved by California voters in 2000 that says the state will only recognise marriages between a man and woman. Randy Thomasson, the director of the Campaign for California Families, one of the groups challenging the marriages in court, said last week that Newsom “cannot play God.”

On Sunday, a small group of protesters stood across the street from City Hall holding signs protesting same-sex unions.

But the critics seemed to make little difference to most of the people inside the building, where the mood was both busy and joyous. Many clerks and sheriff’s deputies volunteered their time to work over the weekend.

Rich Walker and Brad Chilcoat, who have owned a home together in San Francisco for the last three and a half years, exchanged their vows at the top of City Hall’s grand staircase, and said later that the city’s recognition of their union added special meaning.

“It’s official. It’s official,” Walker said, displaying the marriage certificate stamped with both their names.

The certificate, Chilcoat said, “moves us from second-class citizens to equal status”.

Walker, 50, and Chilcoat, 41, walked out of City Hall arm-in-arm, cheered by the crowds of people waiting outside.