S.F.'s Gay Wed-A-Thon Rolls On

Marriage ceremonies for gay couples were expected to continue in San Francisco Wednesday, after two judges declined to immediately end San Francisco's same-sex wedding spree.

Serenaded by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, same-sex couples continued to marry Tuesday for the sixth straight day, bringing the total number of gay weddings to about 2500, reports CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales.

As conservative groups vowed to take their case to higher courts, Mayor Gavin Newsom said the weddings would continue.

"We're still moving forward, business as usual at city hall," he said. "This is a long road, and I am resolved, more resolved today than ever."

During separate hearings Tuesday, a pair of Superior Court judges ruled that they were not yet prepared to prohibit city officials from engaging in the collective act of civil disobedience that has allowed more than 2,600 same-sex couples to be married at City Hall since Thursday.

"There was nothing particularly compelling after today that makes me think that we should back off," Newsom said in announcing that the city would go on sanctioning same-sex unions until told otherwise by the courts.

At the same time, it remains uncertain just how long San Francisco's unprecedented wedding march will go on. After denying an anti-gay marriage group's request for a temporary restraining order strictly on procedural grounds, one judge scheduled a Friday hearing on the matter.

In the other case, Superior Court Judge James L. Warren refused to grant a different group's petition for a stay that would have abruptly halted the weddings. He said the plaintiffs had not met the legal burden required for such an emergency order, because they had not shown that there would be irreparable harm, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman.

"Every license that continues to be processed is one more continuing harm," disagreed attorney Rich Ackerman.

Warren did, however, agree to order the city to either "cease and desist" issuing the disputed licenses or to come back to court on March 29 and explain why they haven't, a ruling that attorneys for both sides claimed as a victory.

"The judge would not issue a cease and desist order unless the judge made a determination that the mayor is in violation" of the law, said Robert Tyler, a lawyer for the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund, an anti-gay marriage group that takes its name from an approved ballot measure limiting legal marriage to heterosexual couples.

But City Attorney Dennis Herrera insisted the judge had made no such determination and that the city had scored a major triumph by getting six more weeks to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and the chance to argue its case "on the merits."

"We believe we have very strong arguments," Herrera said.

Newsom maintains he had the legal authority to direct the county clerk to allow same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses because the California Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The ruling in favor of the city calls into question the California law banning gay marriage and sets up a fight that could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, reports Gonzalez.

Warren's nonbinding order frustrated conservatives who also failed earlier in the day to persuade another judge, Ronald Quidachay, to halt the weddings as part of a separate challenge, which was filed by the Campaign for California Families, a group that advocates limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.

On Tuesday afternoon, the group took its request for a restraining order to an appellate court in San Francisco, saying it had no choice but "to ask them to uphold California state law since Judge Quidachay is choosing not to act."

Tyler, the lawyer for the Proposition 22 fund, said his clients also would appeal Warren's decision to a higher court if San Francisco keeps permitting gay couples to wed, as Newsom clearly stated it would.

In addition to blocking San Francisco from sanctioning more same-sex unions, both groups are also seeking to have the marriages already recorded declared null and void.

Couples who were among the thousands to have exchanged vows in San Francisco in recent days were cheered by Tuesday's court developments, but said they recognized they probably have to wait before they'll know what their marriage certificates will really mean.

Gay and lesbian couples from Europe and more than 20 states have lined up outside the ornate City Hall since city officials decided to begin marrying same-sex couples six days ago in a public challenge to President Bush's comments against gay marriage.

"George Bush basically in the State of the Union declared war on us and those who would destroy the sanctity of marriage," said newlywed Greg Brevoort, "and he said it with the same fervor that he declared war on terrorists — and we're not terrorists."

City officials said 172 couples were married Tuesday, a pace that would bring the total number who have taken vows promising to be "spouses for life" to over 3,000 by Friday.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged city officials to stop the same-sex weddings.

"Californians spoke on the issue of same-sex marriage when they overwhelmingly approved California's law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "I support that law and encourage San Francisco officials to obey that law. The courts should act quickly to resolve this matter."