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Gay, lesbian couples flock to courts to wed
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jubilant gay and lesbian couples flocked to city halls and county courthouses across California on Monday to wed with pets, siblings and kids in tow as same-sex marriages resumed across the state following a five-year legal hiatus.

Monday was the first chance for all but a handful of the state's same-sex couples to wed since 2008, when about 18,000 marriages went forward during a brief legal window before a voter-approved ban.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutional merits of that ban — called Proposition 8 — and a lower court on Friday said same-sex marriages could resume. On Sunday, Justice Anthony Kennedy rejected a last-ditch appeal.

While a few lucky couples were able to score marriage licenses before government offices closed and wed late Friday and scores of others tied the knot at San Francisco City Hall over the weekend, Monday was the day many couples had been awaiting for years.

The Los Angeles County clerk-recorder's office logged more than 600 online marriage license applications over the weekend — more than five times the normal amount — and posted extended hours Monday and Tuesday to deal with the crush.

In West Hollywood, where about 40 percent of the population is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, the City Council was deputized to perform nuptials. Free shuttles ran from court to near City Hall.

Twenty couples were married within the first 45 minutes Monday and a line grew throughout the morning.

In the smaller, rural counties, the scene was more subdued but joyous.

In Shasta County, one couple wed before 9 a.m., said County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen, but the county will perform same-sex weddings on an as-needed basis to supplement its regular twice weekly ceremonies for couples.

In Tulare County, fewer than a dozen couples showed up to get marriage licenses, said Julie Poochigian, the county's Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder.

Though ceremonies were taking place throughout the state, gay marriage opponents say they still believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

"From a church perspective, we're going to stick to our guns," said the Rev. Chris Clark, pastor of the East Clairemont Baptist Church in San Diego. "God's design for marriage hasn't changed. It's one man, one woman."

In Sacramento, opponents were less visible Monday than during the lengthy legal saga. Fewer than a dozen protesters gathered outside the clerk-recorder's office holding large signs that read "GOD has ruled on marriage" and "Marriage=1 Man+1 Woman." One man shouted at couples through a bullhorn. The protesters left by midmorning.