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San Francisco Issues Gay Marriage Licenses

Aired February 13, 2004 - 15:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN CNN ANCHOR: It's the day before Valentine's Day, and all they can talk about in San Francisco is marriage, gay marriage. The city's decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses has sparked a new battle in what's become a hot-button issue nationwide.
Rusty Dornin is in San Francisco with more on that -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, gay couples began lining up outside City Hall before they even opened the doors.

By the time they began issuing licenses, there were hundreds of people in line. Some people waited in line as long as two hours. There are still probably over 100 people in line. In the first three hours, 90 couples exchanged vows. Now, that's in three hours. Yesterday, that's as many marriages that they conducted all day long.

So, Deputy Marriage Commissioner Jim Illig has been performing heterosexual marriages for 10 years at City Hall. And he's applauding the city's historic move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ILLIG, SAN FRANCISCO DEPUTY MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER: I'm not doing this. Gavin Newsom is not doing this. The people are doing this. They're marrying each other. And this is a giant act of civil disobedience, which I strongly support.

DORNIN: So you are celebrating this day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: The reason there was a big rush here today is this. Now, this is the lawsuit that was filed by the Campaign for California Families.

And it's seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the city. It's actually suing Mayor Gavin Newsom individually, as well as in his position as mayor, and the county clerk, Nancy Alfaro, as well. The judge will not hear arguments in that case, however, until next Tuesday, because of the President's Day holiday.

Meantime, religious groups are planning a rally here at the plaza in about an hour. Also, in Los Angeles, there were several protesters down there from the family coalition group that were protesting this move by San Francisco. Meantime, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and several heterosexual couples had reserved City Hall to have a special ceremony there. Now, while they will not issue licenses here at City Hall, if folks did get a license today, same-sex couples could show up tomorrow and actually have the ceremony performed here tomorrow -- Carol.

LIN: It's going to be a busy day at City Hall.

Thank you very much, Rusty Dornin.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired February 13, 2004 - 15:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN CNN ANCHOR: It's the day before Valentine's Day, and all they can talk about in San Francisco is marriage, gay marriage. The city's decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses has sparked a new battle in what's become a hot-button issue nationwide.
Rusty Dornin is in San Francisco with more on that -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, gay couples began lining up outside City Hall before they even opened the doors.

By the time they began issuing licenses, there were hundreds of people in line. Some people waited in line as long as two hours. There are still probably over 100 people in line. In the first three hours, 90 couples exchanged vows. Now, that's in three hours. Yesterday, that's as many marriages that they conducted all day long.

So, Deputy Marriage Commissioner Jim Illig has been performing heterosexual marriages for 10 years at City Hall. And he's applauding the city's historic move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ILLIG, SAN FRANCISCO DEPUTY MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER: I'm not doing this. Gavin Newsom is not doing this. The people are doing this. They're marrying each other. And this is a giant act of civil disobedience, which I strongly support.

DORNIN: So you are celebrating this day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: The reason there was a big rush here today is this. Now, this is the lawsuit that was filed by the Campaign for California Families.

And it's seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the city. It's actually suing Mayor Gavin Newsom individually, as well as in his position as mayor, and the county clerk, Nancy Alfaro, as well. The judge will not hear arguments in that case, however, until next Tuesday, because of the President's Day holiday.

Meantime, religious groups are planning a rally here at the plaza in about an hour. Also, in Los Angeles, there were several protesters down there from the family coalition group that were protesting this move by San Francisco. Meantime, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and several heterosexual couples had reserved City Hall to have a special ceremony there. Now, while they will not issue licenses here at City Hall, if folks did get a license today, same-sex couples could show up tomorrow and actually have the ceremony performed here tomorrow -- Carol.

LIN: It's going to be a busy day at City Hall.

Thank you very much, Rusty Dornin.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com