San Francisco: In a unanimous ruling, the California Supreme Court today (May 12, 2004) ordered an immediate halt to gay marriages, a month after the same-sex weddings issue first sparked a divisive debate in the US.

The seven-justice court also directed the San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city officials to enforce the current marriage laws without regard to their own personal views about the constitutionality of those laws.

In a pair of unanimous orders, the court granted requests by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and by groups opposing same-same marriage to bypass lower courts and review the issue itself.

The court said it would hear arguments only on whether Newsom and the city clerk are bound by a State Constitutional provision requiring administrative agencies to follow a State law until an appellate court rules the law unconstitutional.

The court said it would hold a hearing in late May or early June and rule within 90 days of the hearing.

The court's decision to halt same-sex marriages put an end to ceremonies that had brought thousands of jubilant gay couples to City Hall in the last month.

It emboldened local officials in remote cities and towns across the country to challenge their States' marriage laws and sparked a political furore that has become an issue in the Presidential race, a local daily said.