page_title: Same-sex marriage in California
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Same-sex marriage in California / Timeline
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo I took of Same-Sex Marriage lines Feb. 15, 2004 in SF
context_page_description: Same-sex marriage is legal in the U.S. state of California. The state first issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples June 16, 2008 as a result of the Supreme Court of California finding in In re Marriage Cases that barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the state's Constitution. The issuance of such licenses was halted from November 5, 2008 through June 27, 2013 due to the passage of Proposition 8—a state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. The granting of same-sex marriages recommenced following the United States Supreme Court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which restored the effect of a federal district court ruling that overturned Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.
  On August 4, 2010, United States District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker declared Proposition 8 a violation of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a decision upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on February 7, 2012. The case, known as Perry v. Brown in the Ninth Circuit, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 31, 2012. The case was granted review as Hollingsworth v.
context_section_description: February 12, 2004: Recently elected Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city officials began issuing marriage licenses in San Francisco, California. Lesbians Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex couple to be married. The event was intended to undercut a legal challenge planned by Campaign for California Families (CCF).
  March 9, 2004: The San Jose City Council, by a vote of 8–1, agreed to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions for city employees.
  March 11, 2004: The Supreme Court of California, headquartered in San Francisco, issued a stay ordering the County of San Francisco to stop performing same-sex marriages pending court review on the legality of the matter. Mayor Newsom agreed to abide by the order.  The ruling did not alter a scheduled March 29 San Francisco Superior Court hearing before Judge Ronald Quidachay in which the Campaign for California Families and the Alliance Defense Fund claimed that San Francisco's granting of same-sex marriage licenses was illegal. Quidachay later delayed the hearing pending state Supreme Court action.
  May 25, 2004: The state Supreme Court held hearings on the legality of the marriages. San Francisco had wanted its case heard first by lower courts, before juries, rather than by the state Supreme Court. However, the court suggested that San Francisco could file its own suit against the state, and the city launched such a suit that afternoon.
  August 12, 2004: The state Supreme Court released its decision, exactly six months after the first same-sex marriages were performed in San Francisco. The court ruled unanimously that the City and County of San Francisco exceeded its authority and violated state law by issuing the marriage licenses. In a 5–2 decision, the court also declared all same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco to be void, while expressing no opinion on the constitutionality of marriage restrictions.
  March 14, 2005: In the case of In re Marriage Cases, trial judge Richard Kramer of San Francisco County Superior Court rules that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
  May 15, 2008: The state Supreme Court released its decision in In re Marriage Cases, applying strict scrutiny to the state's discrimination between heterosexual and other citizens, marriage was found to be a fundamental right that may not be denied based on sexual orientation, and the relevant laws were struck down.
  June 16, 2008: After state offices close for the day at 5:01 p.m., same-sex marriage is legal in California. Counties start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples during regular hours on June 17.
  November 4, 2008: Prop 8 passes. Same-sex marriages stop as of November 5.
  May 23, 2009: Perry v. Schwarzenegger filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to challenge the validity of Proposition 8 on behalf of two same-sex couples.
  May 26, 2009: The state Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, but did not overturn previous same-sex marriages.
  August 4, 2010: U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker declared the ban unconstitutional but stayed his ruling pending appeal.
  August 5, 2010: Both sides submitted legal briefs to Judge Walker arguing for or against a long-term stay of the ruling.
  August 7, 2010: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had vetoed same-sex marriage legislation on two earlier occasions, and Attorney General Jerry Brown both filed motions with Judge Walker, urging him not to stay his ruling any longer. Lawyers representing Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote, "The Administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California".
  August 12, 2010: Judge Walker scheduled to lift his stay on this date for marriages to resume during the appeals process, instead issues a stay until August 18 to allow opponents to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
  November 17, 2011: The California Supreme Court rules, in Perry v. Brown, that sponsors of Proposition 8 have 
caption: The line of same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses stretched for blocks around San Francisco's City Hall in February 2004.
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