San Francisco Gay Weddings

In 2004, for one month the city of San Francisco issued marriage licenses to over 4,000 same-sex couples. Couples travelled from other parts of the US and from other countries to be married. Almost 4000 gay weddings were held before the Supreme Court of California issued a stay preventing any further marriages until a court hearing was held. One of the more significant gay weddings held was that of David J. Knight, whose father William Knight was author of the proposal to prevent California from recognizing gay marriages from other states. David married his partner of 10 years. In the same month, 103 opposite sex marriage licenses were issued. San Francisco intended for the issue to be heard in the lower courts before getting to a Supreme Court level, so that a jury of a wide range of people could hear the city's arguments for gay marriage. The Supreme Court intervened early on in the case, and the issue was decided by the judges on the bench. San Francisco did not succeed in its attempts, but gay marriage laws were tested by the gay wedding idea. The 3,995 gay weddings held in one month showed how much the citizens of San Francisco supported gay marriage rights.