Gavin Newsom, 2004 News

mayor of San Francisco, declared in February that the city would allow same-sex marriages, saying they are permitted under the equality provisions in the state constitution. Almost 3,200 same-sex couples were married within 10 days of Newsom's announcement. The state supreme court declared in August that the gay marriages that were performed in San Francisco are “void and of no legal effect from their inception.” The unanimous ruling stated that Newsom did not have the authority to permit such unions.