Judge Rules Against Gay O.C. Couple

Upholding a 1996 federal law that allows states to deny recognition to same-sex marriages, a federal court judge in Santa Ana ruled Thursday that a gay Mission Viejo couple did not have the right to marry.

U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor, however, declined to rule on the whether a state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman violates the California Constitution.

Taylor said the law should be decided by the state courts. A Superior Court judge this year took under submission six cases stemming from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s decision to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples in 2004.

Thursday’s court ruling stemmed from the Orange County clerk’s decision to deny a marriage license to Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer.

The men’s lawsuit asked the court to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 22, which passed in 2000.

The couple’s attorney, Richard C. Gilbert, said he expected the decision and welcomed the opportunity to argue the case before a federal appellate court. An appellate court, Gilbert believes, is more likely to strike down the law.

“As far as we’re concerned, it’s not even a setback, and everything is on course,” he said.