Sonoma County's same-sex couples not deterred by ballot initiative

<p>Petaluma resident Daniel Garcia said he and his longtime partner, Frank Benjamin, are prepared to marry “no matter how many times it takes.” </p><p>The gay couple has booked July 3 to wed at the Sonoma County clerk’s office. </p><p>But they may be facing another invalidation of their marriages now that a constitutional amendment defining marriage in California as between a man and woman was placed on the Nov. 4 ballot Monday.</p><p>Garcia was hopeful Tuesday, citing a recent Field Poll showing a majority of Californians support same-sex marriage for the first time in 30 years. </p><p>That attitude was absent when they married four years ago in San Francisco under a decree by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Those 4,000 same-sex marriages were later invalidated by a state Supreme Court ruling.</p><p>“At this point in time, I do think it’s 50-50. I’ve never been optimistic about it,” said Garcia, 42. “In a realistic point of view, it may be 51 percent on our side. It’s close, but we’re not at that major acceptance level.”</p><p>Six other couples have booked to wed at the Sonoma County clerk’s office — two for June 17, when licenses are legally being issued under a recent state Supreme Court ruling overturning Proposition 22. That ballot measure, approved by 60 percent of voters, had banned same-sex marriage in 2000.</p><p>If passed, the new amendment would overturn the state court’s May 15 ruling and amend the state Constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman. </p><p>Similar same-sex marriage bans have been adopted in 26 states.</p><p>Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified the initiative Monday after a random check of a portion of the more than 1.1 million signatures submitted by its sponsors, well beyond the 694,354 required for the ballot. </p><p>Some opponents of same-sex marriage have petitioned the state court to delay the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples until after the November election. </p><p>“It makes no sense for it to go into effect only to be overruled a few months later,” said Mathew Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel, a national group with an office in the state that is petitioning for a stay of the state court’s decision. </p><p>Staver said the organization and its partners are “very confidant” that the ballot initiative will be approved by a majority of California voters. </p><p>“I think we’ve already proved that with the 1.1 million signatures,” he added.</p><p>Meanwhile, county clerks have amended their marriage license applications to read “Party A” and “Party B” instead of bride and groom. </p><p>Gay and lesbian couples can legally wed between June 17 and the Nov. 4 election — a total of 141 days — unless the state court decides to stay its decision.</p><p>At the Sonoma County Clerk’s office, one same-sex marriage has been booked for June 27, two for July 3, one for Aug. 29 and another in September, county clerk Janice Atkinson said Tuesday.</p><p>“We are coding when we put gender marriages on the calendar, putting them in a different color, just in case we have to contact them again about any changes,” Atkinson said.</p>