Judge to ask for state's gay marriage cases to be heard in San Francisco
By Thomas Peele
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

SAN FRANCISCO - A Superior Court judge Wednesday said that legal cases concerning gay marriage here and elsewhere in California should proceed only on a coordinated basis.

Judge Richard Kramer said that he would recommend to the State Judicial Council that it appoint a coordinating judge and that all gay marriage cases be heard in San Francisco.

The cases involve two challenges to the constitutionality of the state ban on gay marriage and a case where a same-sex couple sued Los Angeles County demanding that it issue them a marriage license.

Kramer said the complexity of the cases required coordination. The Judicial Council is expected to name a coordinating judge within six weeks.


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La. Senate OKs gay marriage ban; election date still in question
The Associated Press


BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's state Senate voted 31-6 Tuesday to place a ban on same sex marriage and civil unions into the state constitution, a proposal that will have to be approved by the voters this fall.

Still in question after the vote was the date of the election. As it came out of the Senate, the measure calls for an election date of Sept. 18. The measure's House author, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, had wanted a Nov. 2 date, coinciding with the presidential election and Scalise's own race for Congress.

The House will have to approve the Senate changes by a two-thirds vote. It was unclear when that vote would happen.