GAY PAIRS SUE FOR THE RIGHT TO MARRY: From the San Francisco Chronicle

The legal battle over same-sex marriage in San Francisco moved into a new phase Friday as couples who were left stranded at City Hall by a court order halting same-sex weddings, and others who were awaiting wedding dates, sued to overturn the state laws that prohibit them from marrying.

The hastily drafted lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court less than a day after the California Supreme Court ordered city officials to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, at least for now. The court is expected to rule sometime this summer on whether Mayor Gavin Newsom had the authority to defy the state's marriage law because he considers it unconstitutional.

Until now, the conflict over the weddings authorized by Newsom a month ago has been fought by the city, the state and opponents of same-sex marriage -- parties affected indirectly, at most, by the California law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. On Friday, the battle was joined by six couples with something much more personal at stake.

"This case puts a face on the discrimination,'' American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Tamara Lange said at a news conference announcing the suit.

The faces in the suit include those of Pali Cooper, 48, and her partner Jeanne Rizzo, 57, of Tiburon, who were on the steps of City Hall on Thursday preparing to tie the knot after 15 years together when they learned their wedding was off.

Myra Beals, 61, and Ida Matson, 68, of Mendocino, also are plaintiffs. The couple, together for 27 years, planned to be married Friday. They say in the suit that they have had to buy expensive insurance policies to make up for Beals' ineligibility for Matson's health coverage and retirement benefits, a consequence of their inability to marry legally.

A third couple, Jewelle Gomez, 55, and Diane Sabin, 51, of San Francisco, partners for 11 years, have had to pay thousands of dollars for estate planning to make sure each would be protected if the other died. They've also had difficulty with hospital visitation during Gomez's recent surgery, the suit says. ...

Friday's suit claiming that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional was the second filed against the state since the Supreme Court's order Thursday afternoon. The first came from San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who filed shortly after the court intervened.

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