Begin scouring gift registries and buying champagne: Monday, June 16 could be a big day for Bay Area weddings.
Twenty minutes after the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that same-sex marriages were legal in the state, a few dozen couples began showing up at the county clerk's office in San Francisco's City Hall hoping to get married then and there.
The couples waited in line to tie the knot, some clutching bouquets, some tearing up and a lesbian lawyer highlighting her favorite parts of the inch-thick court decision. Deena Lahn, 48, and Mary Schroeder, 45, rushed from their home in the Mission after reading the news online.
"I said, 'Let's go! Let's go see if we can get married!' " Lahn said.
They could not, at least for now. The court's decision doesn't go into effect for at least 30 days, and maybe longer.
Karen Hong, director of the San Francisco County clerk's office, allowed couples to make appointments starting June 16, but warned they might have to reschedule if the matter isn't worked out by then.
She told them that anyone who was married at City Hall in February 2004 would need to get married again because those licenses, which were nullified by court order six months later, remain invalid.
After ruling, gay couples get busy planning weddings
San Francisco Chronicle, USA
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