Feds Strike Back Against SF Marriages

March 1, 2004

The Social Security Administration has instructed its offices nationwide not to accept any marriage certificates from San Francisco as proof of identification. The directive affects licenses issued to straight and gay couples alike. Newlyweds routinely use their marriage licenses to make name changes on Social Security cards.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom went on the attack Saturday, accusing the President of political showmanship and discrimination.

He is now discriminating against San Franciscans gay and straight, the mayor told a town hall meeting Saturday. We are consulting with the city attorney and will take immediate steps to get this directive overturned.

More than 1,000 people crammed into the meeting to hear the mayor who took office 52 days ago and who stunned the city including its gay community two weeks ago by authorizing city officials to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Past administrations in San Francisco have seen no more than a couple of dozen people turn out for town hall meetings. But, Saturday, the city's gay community wanted to use it to show their thanks to Newsom.

Some in the crowd carried signs reading: Thank You Mayor and Gavin — Our Hero.

A spokesperson for Social Security said the agency is guided by state law in determining what is acceptable identification. Since the validity of San Francisco's marriage licenses which have been altered to be gender neutral are being challenged by the state in court, the agency will not accept them.

Last week President Bush announced he would support a constitutional amendment to ban marriage.

Newsom also told the cheering crowd that the city looks forward to arguing the constitutionality of same-sex marriages before the California Supreme Court.

The high court on Friday declined a request by Attorney General Bill Lockyer to immediately shut down San Francisco's gay weddings. The court ordered all sides on the issue to submit arguments this Friday.

The state Supreme Court refusal to grant Lockyer an immediate injunction follows similar decisions by two Superior court judges.

Not only did two lower court judges… determine there is no irreparable harm being done, now the Supreme Court said the same thing, Newsom said.