Quote:
Originally posted by Not Me
It is not the province of a mayor to interpret the state or US constitution - that is the province of the judiciary. Those of you who are confused about this, see Marbury v. Madison for more information.
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The California Supreme Court appears to disagree with you, and refused to enjoin Newsom or to nullify the marriages that have been conducted:
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/...ngs/index.html
"In yet another setback to conservatives opposed to same-sex marriage, the California Supreme Court declined a request to immediately stop San Francisco from marrying gay couples and to nullify the weddings already performed.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked the justices Friday to intervene in the debate while they consider the legality of the marriages. More than 3,400 couples have tied the knot since San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses two weeks ago under the directive of Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Lockyer told the justices it was a matter for the courts, not the mayor, to decide. He did not take a position on whether same-sex marriages should be deemed constitutional.
"The genius of our legal system is in the orderly way our laws can be changed, by the Legislature or by a vote of the people through the initiative process, to reflect current wisdom or societal values," he wrote. " Hey, he's been reading our board!
More interesting, though:
"In another development related to the weddings, the Social Security Administration has told its offices nationwide not to accept marriage certificates from San Francisco as proof of identification for newlyweds looking to make name changes on Social Security cards. "
