http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/12/SAMESEX12.TMPSan Francisco's attempt to legalize same-sex marriages, which made the city a magnet for gay and lesbian couples from around the nation and the focus of a nationwide political uproar, ran into a roadblock Thursday at the California Supreme Court.
The justices ruled unanimously that Mayor Gavin Newsom overstepped his authority when he ordered the marriage licenses issued on Feb. 12 in defiance of a state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
By a 5-2 vote, the court ruled that none of the 3,955 couples who flocked to City Hall in response to Newsom's decree was ever legally married or entitled to the rights of spouses. The court said their $82 license fees should be refunded...