The California Supreme Court voided all same-sex marriages sanctioned by San Francisco this year, ruling today that the mayor overstepped his authority by issuing the couples licences.
The court said the city violated the law when it issued the certificates and performed the marriage ceremonies in a month long wedding march that began February 12th, since both legislation and a voter-approved measure defined marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The justices decided with a 5-2 vote to nullify the nearly 4,000 marriages performed between February 12 and March 11, when the court halted the weddings.
Their legality, Justice Joyce Kennard wrote, must wait until "the constitutionality of California laws restricting marriages to opposite-sex couples has been authoritatively resolved through judicial proceedings."
The court, however, did not resolve whether the California Constitution would permit a same-sex marriage, ruling instead on the narrow issue of whether local officials could bypass California's judicial and legislative branches.
