Newsom, unbowed by decision, says he is 'more resolved'

Newsom, unbowed by decision, says he is 'more resolved'
s.F. mayor reacts: Suit against state ban will continue

Ilene Lelchuk, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 13, 2004

Even in defeat, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared victory Thursday after the state Supreme Court ruled that he had no right to authorize the marriages of nearly 4,000 gay and lesbian couples at City Hall.

With the confidence and defiance that catapulted Newsom into national prominence only weeks into his new term when he approved same-sex marriages, the mayor said his fight for equal rights has put a human face on discrimination for the world to see.

"Now we have these 4,000 couples to tell their stories. We have their immediate family, their extended family, their grandparents, their sons, their daughters, their cousins, aunts and uncles," Newsom told a City Hall room packed with reporters from around the country. "So I'm not in any way discouraged. I'm frankly more resolved."

Newsom pledged that San Francisco would continue a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The court ruled unanimously Thursday that the mayor had overstepped his authority on Feb. 12 when he ordered the city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite state law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/13/MNGAE87GQA1.DTL

especially after all the negative stuff I read before the Mayoral election.

Those are probably the most politically active and informed citizens of any city in the US. It's no accident that San Francisco is beloved worldwide, imho.

find Gavin Newsome really attractive?

Not so much because he is young and handsome, but because he is OUT THERE protecting those without civil rights. He took a risk and put his butt on the line and fought for the rights of gay people. That picture of him, marrying two women, was so touching.

He is great. I am donating to his next campaign, dammit.

(And yes I am drinking, so what!)

He was called everything from a Republican to a corporate shill. If the election were limited to DU'ers, he'd have lost in a landslide.

... of monolithic group. I personally didn't bash Newsom once, or 'hate' him, even if my personal preferences were otherwise.