San Francisco's gay-marriage
ruling may violate state law
Mayor Gavin Newsom set
precedent in the same-sex
marriage debate but is accused
of 'exceeding authority'
LISALEFF
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SAN FRANCISCO — The California
Supreme Court is set to rule Thursday
on whether the mayor exceeded his au
thority by allowing gay couples to wed
earlier this year — and many assume
the decision will find Mayor Gavin
Newsom violated state law.
What is less clear, however, is how the
seven justices will treat thousands of
same-sex marriages sanctioned before
the high court intervened in March.
"It appears quite obvious the court
is going to rule against the mayor," said
Kate Kendell, executive director of the
National Center for Lesbian Rights.
"We think that's unfortunate and it's
wrong, but of course the more human
question is what to do with 4,037 mar
riage licenses that belong to couples in
relationships and with families."
Gay rights advocates say the most
they can hope for is that the justices will
say nothing — at least for now — about
the validity of the licenses gay couples
received at San Francisco City Hall be
tween Feb. 12 and March 11, the day
the court issued an injunction halting
the unprecedented wedding spree.
The city, as well as several legal
groups, sued the state the same day,
alleging California's marriage laws —
defining marriage as a union between
a man and a woman — are an
unconstitutional abridgment of the
civil rights of gays and lesbians.
Thursday's opinion will not address
the constitutional question.
"Tomorrow's ruling is important,
but it will not resolve whether same
sex couples have the right to marry
and be treated equally under our state
constitution," said Jennifer Pizer, a
lawyer with the Lambda Legal De
fense and Education Fund, a gay
rights legal aid group.
Lawyers for the state and a Christian
legal organization that filed the pair of
cases challenging the mayor's decision
have asked the court to nullify the dis
puted marriage licenses if it finds that
Newsom's action was unlawful.
They maintain letting the marriages
stand would not only sow confusion
for other jurisdictions, but would
encourage residents to disregard any
laws with which they disagree.
Please see COURT, page 5
HOUSING
continued from page 1
Under Corvallis's system, if a renter
has a complaint, he or she can contact
the city's rental agency. If the landlord
doesn't make the requested repairs
within todays, the landlord, tenant and
a city assessor examine the property in
dispute The city assessor has the power
to set a deadline for the repairs to be
completed if violations are found. If the
landlord doesn't complete the repairs
by that deadline, the city can levy a
$250 fine for every violation, every day,
until the repairs are completed.
Council members had various
concerns.
Councilor Gary Pape said he was
concerned about the annual $ 10-per
rental unit fee imposed on rental com
panies to fund the program. That mon
ey might be better spent to build more
low-income housing and help with the
homeless situation in Eugene, he said.
Councilor David Kelly said he
feels the housing standards are im
portant for Eugene.
"It's very exciting that we're moving
forward to a public hearing," he said.
"This is designed to accomplish the
idea that people in Eugene ought to lit
erally have a roof over their head that
doesn't leak, have a toilet that works,
have heat that will heat their dwelling
unit, and have weatherproofing for
those rainy windy nights."
He cites these are basic rights to
which everyone is entitled.
In response to Pape's concerns, Kelly
also said the per-unit fee would not go
far in building low-income housing.
Councilor Scott Meisner ques
tioned the need for so many full
time employees.
"Corvallis is a complaint-driven
program, not an annual inspection at
every dwelling unit," Meisner said. "In
that case, you are really going to have
to defend to me the need for a mini
mum of two full-time employees."
Marsha Miller, City of Eugene Plan
ning and Development Department
building and permit services manag
er, said the numbers were based on
the Corvallis program, which receives
approximately 35 calls per month.
Corvallis is about one-third the size of
Eugene. Kelly proposed the idea of
hiring temporary staff as a compro
mise to the full-time employees.
Eugene City Council President Bon
ny Bettman said she hopes the housing
standards will raise the threshold of sub
standard housing in the community.
"(This will result in) no housing
that people will have to rent that
doesn't have adequate heating or
plumbing," she said.
The council thanked staff, students,
and community members for their
hard work on the issue.
"It's heartening to see the
unanimous vote," said ASUO Presi
dent Adam Petkun, adding that
Eugene City
Council President
Bonny Bettman
(top) and City
Councilor Scott
Meisner (bottom)
discuss details of
the proposed
housing
standards at a
City Council work
session
Wednesday
afternoon in city
hall.
Jared Paben
Editor in Chief
54,000 renters in Eugene have been
without adequate housing.
Kelly was happy to see the council
was unified in approving the program
for a hearing and that all of their con
cerns were minor.
The public hearing is set for October.
If the city council approves the housing
standards, the early stages of the pro
gram will start in November 2004 and
be in full operation by November 2005.
omiedrawhorn@dailyemerald.com
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