City asks for earlier same-sex weddings

SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 (UPI) -- California officials have been asked to move up the date for same-sex couples to be legally married in San Francisco.

City officials are seeking permission to begin allowing same-sex nuptials after the end of the June 16 workday instead of the morning of June 17, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

"Unquestionably, we hope to extend beyond 5 o'clock. Why wouldn't we?" Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. "People have longed for this for 30 and 40 years. I don't think we should deny that just on the basis of a bureaucratic time line."

But the change will require permission from the state Office of Vital Records, which oversees the issuance of marriage licenses for all of California's 58 counties.

"We're taking a look at it and will get additional guidance to counties if needed," spokesperson Suanne Buggy told the Chronicle.

Earlier, the California Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples had the right to be married.