“Thousands of marriages sanctioned in San Francisco earlier this year were voided Thursday when the California Supreme Court ruled that city’s mayor overstepped his authority by issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city would appeal the 5-2 ruling by the state’s high court…
In its ruling Thursday, the court said San Francisco illegally issued the certificates and performed the wedding ceremonies, since state law defined marriage as a union between a man and woman. The justices nullified the nearly 4,000 marriages performed between February 12 and Mar. 11, when the court halted the weddings.
The court did not resolve whether the California Constitution would permit a same-sex marriage, ruling instead on the limits of authority regarding local government officials.
The high court’s ruling ordered city and county officials to ‘take all necessary remedial steps to undo the continuing effects of the officials’ past unauthorized actions, including making appropriate corrections to all relevant official records and notifying all affected same-sex couples that the same-sex marriages authorized by the officials are void and of no legal effect.'”