Saturday, June 29, 2013

Court lifts ban on Calif. gay marriages

The four plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban tied the knot Friday, just hours after a federal appeals court freed gay couples to obtain marriage licenses in the state for the first time in 4 1/2 years.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris presided at the San Francisco City Hall wedding of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier as hundreds of supporters looked on and cheered. The couple sued to overturn the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban along with Jeff Katami and Paul Zarrillo, who married at Los Angeles City Hall 90 minutes later with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa presiding.

"By joining the case against Proposition 8, they represented thousands of couples like themselves in their fight for marriage equality," Harris, who had asked the appeals court to act swiftly, said during Stier and Perry's brief ceremony. "Through the ups and downs, the struggles and the triumphs, they came out victorious."

Harris declared Perry, 48, and Stier, 50, "spouses for life," but during their vows, the Berkeley couple took each other as "lawfully wedded wife." One of their twin sons served as ring-bearer.

Although the couples fought for the right to wed for years, their weddings came together in a flurry when a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order Friday afternoon dissolving, "effective immediately," a stay it had imposed on gay marriages while the lawsuit challenging the ban advanced through the courts.

Sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban, known as Proposition 8, called the appeals court's swift action "outrageous." Under Supreme Court rules, the losing side in a legal dispute has 25 days to ask the high court to rehear the case, and Proposition 8's backers had not yet announced whether they would do so.

"The resumption of same-sex marriage this day has been obtained by illegitimate means. If our opponents rejoice in achieving their goal in a dishonorable fashion, they should be ashamed," said Andy Pugno, general counsel for a coalition of religious conservative groups that sponsored the 2008 ballot measure.

"It remains to be seen whether the fight can go on, but either way, it is a disgraceful day for California," Pugno said.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Proposition 8's sponsors lacked authority to challenge the ban after Harris and Gov. Jerry Brown, both Democrats, refused to defend the ban in court.

The decision lets stand a trial judge's declaration that the ban violates the civil rights of gay Californians and cannot be enforced.

The Supreme Court said earlier this week that it would not finalize its ruling in the Proposition 8 case until after the 25-day period, which ends July 21. But San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who joined the two couples in the lawsuit, said Friday that the 9th Circuit panel had the power to lift the stay it imposed.

"The fact of the matter is the only thing holding up the weddings was the stay that the 9th Circuit had in place," Herrera said. "The fact that there is a separate 25-day period allowing the petition to go for a rehearing is separate and apart from that stay."

Brown directed California counties to start performing same-sex marriages immediately after the appeals court's order. A memo from the Department of Public Health said "same-sex marriage is again legal in California" and ordered county clerks to resume issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Given that word did not come down from the appeals court until mid-afternoon, most counties were not prepared to stay open late to accommodate potential crowds. The clerks in a few counties announced that they would stay open a few hours later Friday.

A jubilant San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced that same-sex couples would be able to marry all weekend in his city, which is hosting its annual gay pride celebration.

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Associated Press writers Jason Dearen, Paul Elias and Mihir Zaveri contributed to this story.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/appeals-court-lifts-hold-calif-gay-marriages-19528404

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Stocks snap three-day winning streak, open lower

stocks

9 hours ago

The Dow and S&P 500 dropped on Friday as investors were reluctant to jump in following a three-day rally, but major averages still capped the volatile quarter with gains.

Stocks finished lower for the month of June, logging their first monthly drop this year. But all three major averages logged their third winning quarter in four. And so far for the year, the Dow has surged more than 14 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have spiked more than 13 percent each.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 114.89 points to close at 14,909.60, pulling back after logging its third-straight day higher. Still, the Dow posted its strongest first half of the year since 1999.

The S&P 500 fell 6.92 points to finish at 1,606.28. The S&P 500 logged its best first half performance since 1998. The Nasdaq eked out a gain of 1.38 points to end at 3,403.25.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged below 17.

For the quarter, the Dow rose 2.27 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 2.36 percent, and the Nasdaq soared 4.15 percent. Microsoft was the best performer for the quarter on the Dow, while IBM tumbled.

Financials topped the S&P 500 sector gainers in the second quarter, while utilities lagged.

Stocks initially opened in negative territory after Fed Governor Jeremy Stein highlighted the upcoming September policy meeting as a possible time when the central bank may need to consider paring back its QE program, adding that the Fed consider the overall economic improvements since it launched the stimulus instead of giving undue weight to the most recent round of tepid economic data.

(Read More: Buckle Up! Expect More Market Volatility This Year)

Stein's comments contradicted comments from other Fed policymakers who have suggested the central bank will bide its time before scaling back its bond purchases.

Menawhile, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said markets should brace for more volatility as they digest news the Fed will scale back bond buying later this year, but the swings will not derail growth. Lacker said he expects U.S. growth to remain around 2 percent for the "foreseeable future."

(Read More:Fed Out in Force as Markets Stabilize)

On the economic front, business activity index in the Midwest fell in June to 51.6 from 58.7 in May, according to the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. A Reuters survey of economists on average expected a median reading of 56.0 in June versus the May figure of 58.7.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment improved in late June, with the final reading on the overall index at 84.1, above the preliminary reading of 82.7, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the final June reading of 82.8.

Japan's benchmark stock index hit a three-week high on the heels of positive economic reports that include much stronger than expected industrial output and retail sales numbers.

"We had better job market numbers, better production numbers, and even consumer prices are picking up. So data-wise, today is a pretty good day for Japan," said Takuji Okubo, principal and chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors.

Traders will closely watch gold prices, as the precious metal dipped below a key level of $1,200 per ounce. Analysts warned that miners could be severely affected if prices remain this low.

(Read More: Three Reasons Gold Will Go to $800)

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