Man and woman' now not in marriage law

The San Francisco judge who first ruled California's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional more than three years ago has taken the final step in the case: ordering the rewording of a state law that limited marriage to a relationship "between a man and a woman."

In his order late Thursday, Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer carried out the mandate of the state Supreme Court to delete language in the 1977 law that barred gay and lesbian couples from marrying.

That law defined marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." Other laws specify that unmarried people 18 and older can consent on their own, while minors need a parent's consent to marry.

From now on, Kramer declared, the law "shall be interpreted as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples."

In a separate order, he told the state's registrar of vital statistics to issue gender-neutral marriage licenses and applications, and to advise county clerks of their duty to record licenses and perform marriage ceremonies without regard to either spouse's sex.

 Man and woman' not in marriage law