Same-Sex Couples Protest Gay Marriage Ban at Bay Area Clerks' Offices

Same-sex couples from around the Bay Area plan to observe Valentine's Day today by heading to local county clerks' offices to protest the state's ban on gay marriage.

Marriage Equality USA spokeswoman Molly McKay said that at least a dozen same-sex couples are expected to apply for marriage licenses at the clerk's office in San Francisco at about 11 a.m., and as many as 100 gay marriage supporters could attend a simultaneous office sit-in.

"The plan is that individuals will stay there until the authorities decide what to do," McKay said.

Organizers are expecting the protest to be peaceful and respectful to heterosexual couples showing up to get married at City Hall.

"We're going to make sure that there's still a clear pathway for our heterosexual brothers and sisters to make it to the marriage counter," McKay said.

Similar protests are planned at dozens of clerks' office around California and the country, Marriage Equality organizer Leslie Stewart said, including one this afternoon at the clerk-recorder's office in Contra Costa County.

Same-sex couples from the East Bay are gathering at 3:30 p.m. to apply for marriage licenses at the clerk's office at 555 Escobar St. in Martinez. South Bay couples are scheduled to protest the gay marriage ban at starting at 3 p.m. at the Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder's Office, located at 625 Court St. in San Jose.

---Bay City News