California court says gay marriages can proceed

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Supreme Court gave the final green light on Wednesday for gay marriages to begin later this month, turning down requests for a delay.

The most populous U.S. state's highest court ruled last month that refusing homosexuals the right to wed violated the state constitution.

Opponents then asked the court to halt the start of gay weddings until November, when the state's voters will decide a ballot measure that, if approved by a simple majority, will define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"It would have been unprecedented to postpone constitutional rights based on speculation of how a political scenario may or may not play out," San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera said.

"Folks can get married on June 17," he said.

The court voted 4-3 to deny the petition to stay the decision. The same judges voted the same way on May 15 in the landmark decision, hailed by gay activists and condemned by social conservatives.

The court's original ruling becomes final at 5 p.m. on June 16, opening the way for gay marriages to start the next day.

"This is another four-to-three vote for legal chaos," Glen Lavy, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, which is fighting against gay marriage, said in a statement.