S.F. Mayor Denies His Same-Sex Marriage Order Helped to Reelect Bush

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday dismissed accusations that his decision to allow same-sex marriages motivated conservative voters to turn out in crucial battleground states like Ohio, helping President Bush win reelection.

“That train had already left the station,” Newsom said during an appearance at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. “This was going to be used as a wedge issue regardless of whether or not some crazy mayor was sworn in in San Francisco.”

Newsom, a Democrat, criticized his party for not taking a bolder stance on gay marriage.

“I can’t stand my party right now,” he said. “Is it political expediency? Is it accommodation that we’re after? Or is it about standing up on principles and values?”

Newsom triggered a political firestorm last year when he ordered the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. More than 4,000 couples were married in San Francisco before the California Supreme Court, ruling unanimously that the mayor had overstepped his authority, voided the marriages.

Newsom also criticized Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who said San Francisco’s decision to challenge state law and grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples could damage other gay rights efforts. Frank, who is gay, has favored more gradual change.

But Newsom said politicians could not be afraid of popular opinion. “You can’t wait for public opinion to move social justice forward,” he said.

Same-sex marriage is inevitable, he said, referring to the legality of Massachusetts gay marriage and Vermont civil unions.

“Gay marriage is going to be legalized in the United States of America,” he said. “It is a matter of time.”