California gay couples rush to wed as vote looms

By Peter Henderson and Syantani Chatterjee

SAN FRANCISCO/WEST HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples rushed to wed on Tuesday on the first full day that same-sex marriages were allowed across California, filling city halls with cheers -- and politics.

Gay marriage supporters see the move by the most populous U.S. state to allow same-sex weddings as an historic move long overdue, while opponents brand it a moral tragedy.

Both political sides consider California a trend setter, for better or worse, making its move in an election year. Looming over the flurry of weddings is the possibility of a sudden halt if a November state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage passes.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic rival Barack Obama have largely avoided the issue, finding common ground in supporting states taking the lead on the gay marriage. President George W. Bush firmly supports a U.S. constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"Part of the reason I wanted to come today was to be a number, to be counted," said Gretchen Kaufman in Oakland, California, after getting a license for a same-sex marriage.

Across the bay in San Francisco, same-sex couples, some dressed in matching gowns or tuxedos, marched triumphantly into the ornate City Hall, where balconies around the cavernous stone rotunda were divided into a dozen niches for ceremonies.

The city known for its large gay population married same-sex couples for a "Winter of Love" in 2004. A court threw out those unions but a larger legal battle led last month to the state Supreme Court overturning a law defining marriage as among a man and a woman.

California is the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex marriages and the first to offer to marry couples from any state. Officials here expect an economic boost from the new gay wedding industry, attested to on Tuesday by offers of gowns, caterers and jewelers to newlyweds.