“This is a watershed moment in the struggle for equal marriage rights,” said Kate Kendell, Executive Director of NCLR. “As San Francisco Mayor Newsom and City Assessor Mabel Teng have rightly concluded, the California Constitution requires equal treatment of lesbian and gay couples.”

NCLR, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU are representing four gay and lesbian couples who were married in San Francisco as well as a same-sex couple that plans to marry. The groups argue that “excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry violates the equal protection and due process provisions of the California Constitution.”

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who are 83 and 79 years old, were the first same-sex couple to get married on February 12, 2004 and are being represented by NCLR, Lambda Legal and the ACLU. “We have waited 51 long years for this day, for the right to get married,” said Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. “We’ve been in a committed and loving relationship since 1953 and we are thrilled that other same-sex couples will now have the same opportunity and rights as all married couples.”

“Two people in a loving relationship who have made a commitment to each other should not be denied the right to marry simply because their partner is of the same sex,” said Tamara Lange, staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.

“Denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry denies these couples of hundreds of important rights, including the right to make funeral arrangements for a partner, to take leave to care for a sick partner, or to be protected against the loss of a family home if one partner must go into long-term care.”

Jon Davidson, Senior Counsel for Lambda Legal in its Western Regional Office added: "Married couples in San Francisco deserve respect and fair treatment. We will fight vigorously in court to protect their marriages and ensure that other couples continue having access to marriage licenses. While we still have a legal battle ahead, two separate courts have already seen that there's no need to stop what's happening in San Francisco now because there is no emergency and nobody is being harmed."

NCLR, Lambda Legal and the ACLU-NC are representing the following couples:

Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director of Equality California, California’s Statewide LGBT political and lobbying organization, added: “With this ruling, same-sex couples remain free to marry in San Francisco and the public will continue to witness the joy and happiness that these couples experience. As the court case moves forward, the California Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act (Leno D, SF) is being considered by the California Legislature. California is once again demonstrating its leadership on civil rights issues and, in so doing, is sending an important message of inclusion and equality to the entire world.”