San Diego County Clerk Withdraws Petition to Block Gay Marriage

San Diego County's clerk said Friday he has withdrawn his court action before the state Supreme Court, because another court case is moving ahead.     

Assessor/Recorder/Clerk Ernest Dronenburg Jr. announced late Friday that he has withdrawn a request for a for a stay of the issuance of same sex marriage licenses. 

The request for an immediate stay has already been turned down, but the full case has yet to be heard by the state court. Dronenberg's filing questioned whether he must issue same-sex wedding licenses.

Dronenburg's court actions were intended, he said, to answer his questions on the impact of this summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling which denied an appeal by backers of voter-passed Proposition 8, which limited marriage in California to between one man and one woman.

He said the issues are addressed in a separate court action, Hollingsworth v. O'Connell and Brown and he feared “my case could be considered duplicative and slow the ”

He said he wants to know how June's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same- sex marriage, which did not address the merits of the law, affects the state. He asked if the decision applies to all of California, or just Alameda and Los Angeles counties, where the couples that challenged Prop 8 live.

And he also asked if county clerks, who are elected by voters, are independent or governed by state officials.

Dronenberg's requests of the court were ridiculed quickly, whether in political circles or on social media. Both the U.S. and California Supreme Courts have rejected similar legal attacks on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that such marriages can proceed.

San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts said he thought Dronenburg's latest move was “appropriate,” given the existence of the other case. He and other supervisors said Dronenburg acted on his own and without authorization when he filed his court action.

The supervisors discussed Dronenburg's activities related to gay marriage in a closed session meeting earlier this week, but made no decisions. The discussions are scheduled to continue next week.