California gay weddings to go on
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Los Angeles newlyweds Judi Sofka, right, and Penny Risk embrace after taking vows Friday.
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Entertainer Rosie O'Donnell flew to San Francisco, California, to marry her longtime female partner.
Sen. John Edwards says the issue of gay marriage should be left to states, and not the federal government.
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(CNN) -- California's Supreme Court has rejected a request from the state's attorney general to stop gay weddings and declare invalid over 3,400 same-sex marriages.
However, the court did agree to consider arguments in the court fight over the licensing of gay and lesbian unions by the city of San Francisco.
Chief Justice Ronald George instead ordered the respondents who oppose the weddings to file legal briefs by next Friday, March 5.
Meanwhile, in New York state on Friday, 21 gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows at a village hall in New Paltz.
Mayor Jason West said he considers it his "moral obligation" to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. (Full story)
In California, Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Friday asked the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of same-sex marriages. He also requested an immediate injunction to stop them from being licensed in the meantime.
Lockyer told CNN that San Francisco's issuance of same-sex marriage licenses violates state law, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
"The law is clear. Individuals and government entities that object to statutes may work to change them through the legislative or initiative process," Lockyer said in a statement on his Web site.
After the state high court issued its order, a spokesman for Lockyer said the court's action was "not surprising."
"In fact, we're encouraged the Supreme Court has decided to set up an expedited briefing schedule by next Friday because it means the other side will have a chance to give their argument on an expedited schedule," said spokesman Nathan Barankin.
The attorney general said the petition asks the court to instruct San Francisco to "declare as invalid" the same-sex marriage licenses that have already been issued and order the city to immediately stop issuing new licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Confusion
Lockyer said he was filing the action for another reason: to clear up the confusion same-sex marriage licenses have caused in the state's 57 other counties.
Some county officials have expressed concern about how to apply their policies to gay and lesbian couples with a marriage license.
In an interview with CNN, Lockyer said he opposed the idea of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage.
"We certainly don't need to do that to resolve this issue in California," he said.
The attorney general refused to reveal his personal opinion about same-sex marriages.
"I have a duty to defend the law. I'm not here as an advocate, I'm not here to offer opinions," he said. "My job is to defend the law. The law says marriage in California is confined to a man and a woman."
The issue was brought to the forefront two weeks ago, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the county clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. San Francisco has a consolidated government that functions as both a city and county.
The mayor said the state law actually went against the state's constitution, which does not allow for discrimination.
More than 3,400 same-sex couples have gotten marriage licenses since February 12 at San Francisco's City Hall.
Two lawsuits against the city seeking to halt the marriages and the city's suit against the state have been combined, but no trial date has yet been set.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called upon the mayor to obey the law.
Schwarzenegger, while saying he was "very much against" same-sex marriage, said he believes "very strongly in domestic partnership rights," which would confer the same benefits on same-sex couples that marriage confers on male-female marriage.
