Gay Marriage: California Couples Tie The Knot

A lesbian couple who spearheaded a fight for same-sex marriage in California have become the first to tie the knot hours after a ban was lifted in a landmark US Supreme Court ruling.

Kristin Perry and Sandy Stier exchanged vows in a ceremony conducted by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, as cheers erupted at San Francisco City Hall.

"I now declare you spouses for life," said Ms Harris after the couple exchanged rings and vows.

"I could not be more honoured to stand here today."

The ceremony was the first gay wedding since a brief period in 2008 when California allowed same-sex marriage but then banned it under a close-run referendum.

It came shortly after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco lifted the ban with immediate effect.

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo married in Los Angeles

Many observers thought it could be several weeks before marriages would resume in the famously liberal western US state, but the appeals court announced gay couples could be wed immediately in a posting online.

"The stay in the above matter is dissolved effective immediately," the ruling read, prompting some hasty wedding ceremony preparations.

Ms Perry and Ms Stier were followed by a long line of other same-sex couples who rushed to City Hall.

Ms Stier said: "Kris and I fell in love 14 years ago.

"We knew that our relationship would last ... and wanted our love to last and to be dignified by the institution of marriage."

Ms Perry told the crowd: "This is the first day of the rest of our lives together, and we could not be more elated by your being here."

Ms Stier and Ms Perry were the plaintiffs in the initial action challenging the ban, which wound its way through the legal system before eventually being heard by the top US court.

The Supreme Court ruled that supporters of the so-called Prop 8 ban lacked the proper standing to appeal a lower-court judgement that declared the measure unconstitutional.

The ruling essentially allowed the original federal court ruling to stand, striking down Prop 8.

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