The California Supreme Court has cancelled about 4000 gay marriages sanctioned in San Francisco last spring, ruling that the city's Mayor exceeded his authority when he allowed such unions to take place.
In their 5-2 decision on Thursday, the seven judges said that Mayor Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority by breaking state laws.
The vote to void the unions was applauded by gay-marriage opponents but prompted tearful disappointment among many couples who participated in an unprecedented month-long series of same-sex weddings in February and March.
The ruling said the same-sex ceremonies ignored both state legislation and a voter-approved measure that defined marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The legal fine points were small consolation to thousands of gay couples who have known all along that their right to marry might be short-lived.
Many gay couples, wearing wedding dresses and tuxedos, gathered outside the Supreme Court's headquarters to await the verdict. Their US $82 fees will be refunded and their licenses were now just souvenirs, said a report in Houston Chronicle.
