Arrests Made After Same-Sex Couples Denied Marriage License

4 Protesters Were Blocking Doors In County Admin. Building

SAN DIEGO — Nine people were arrested Thursday during a demonstration outside the county clerk’s office by a group demanding that same-sex marriages be allowed in the San Diego area, despite court and ballot-box setbacks that have put the issue in legal limbo.

Weddings between gay and lesbian couples in the state had been scheduled to become recognized by law again Wednesday evening. Two days earlier, however, an appeals-court decision put that prospect on hold for at least four months.

Nonetheless, several same-sex couples arrived at the bayfront San Diego County Administration Center first thing Thursday morning to demand marriage licenses as a constitutional right, and dozens of others gathered to rally in support.
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When the group of roughly 50 chanting activists was deemed an impediment to routine business at the government complex, the Sheriff’s Department sent in a team of riot-gear equipped personnel known as a mobile field force, Lt. Mike Munsey said.

The deputies ordered the protesters to disperse and gave them five minutes to do so. Those who refused were taken into custody.

The arrestees were booked at county jail on suspicion of trespassing, but they were released on their own recognizance late Thursday afternoon, 10News reported.

Proponents of same-sex marriage contend that forbidding the practice — as Californians narrowly voted to do via Proposition 8 two years ago — is unconstitutional on equal-protection grounds.

Two weeks ago, a federal magistrate came to the same conclusion. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco ruled Aug. 4 that the voter-approved initiative violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection to all U.S. citizens.

This week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals put a final decision on hold until at least December, when it plans to hold a hearing on whether it would even hear an appeal of a Walker’s ruling striking down Proposition 8.

At the scene of this morning’s protest, County Clerk David Butler stressed that this week’s appeals ruling forbade him from granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, at least for the time being.

“It the courts say this, they’re the final say at this point,” Butler told reporters outside his office. “And that stay, unfortunately, has stopped everything (to the point) where I’m legally prohibited from issuing a license at this point.”

In his ruling early this month, Walker put the resumption of same-sex marriages on hold until 5 p.m. Aug. 18, pending any intervention by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Attorneys for a group called ProtectMarriage.com appealed Walker’s decision and asked that a stay remain in effect until the appeal is heard.

The appellate panel, however, decided that it wanted to hear arguments about whether the opposition group has legal standing to pursue the appeal. The original defendants in the lawsuit were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Attorney General Jerry Brown, and they have both declined to further pursue the case.

The court stated that it would schedule a hearing during the week of Dec. 6 in San Francisco.

The county clerk’s office told 10News 91 appointments were made for Thursday, with 67 marriage licenses issued and 32 marriage ceremonies performed.

Arrest Made In 1975 Massage Parlor Slaying

SAN DIEGO — Authorities announced an arrest Friday in connection with a 1975 killing at a massage parlor in a then-seedy downtown area now known as the Gaslamp Quarter.

San Diego police detectives traveled to Parchman, Miss., on Thursday to take custody of 57-year-old Leon Johnson, who had been arrested on a warrant charging him with murdering 27-year-old Luz Borrayo in 1975, San Diego Police Department Lt. Ernie Herbert said.

Borrayo’s body was found inside the Twilight Massage Parlor on Nov. 22, 1975 in the 600 block of Fifth Avenue. The victim had been beaten and strangled.

Two years ago, investigators with the SDPD Cold Case Team reopened the case and resubmitted “viable evidentiary items” to the department’s crime lab for renewed analysis. Those reviews resulted in the identification of Johnson as Borrayo’s suspected killer, according to Herbert.

Herbert declined to disclose the type of evidence that allegedly implicated the suspect.

Johnson is being held in county jail in downtown San Diego pending an arraignment scheduled for Monday afternoon.

San Diego Felony Charges

A general definition of felony charges

Criminal codes penalize a variety of activities. Generally, an offense is any violation of the California Penal Code. The Penal Code divides offenses into three major categories: felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions. Felonies are crimes for which a person may be sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison or to death. Misdemeanors are lesser crimes for which a person may be sentenced to imprisonment in a jail. Infractions are not punished by imprisonment at all, and include such offenses as trespassing on land with a vehicle, being under 21 years of age and possessing alcohol, and disturbing the peace. Children under the age of 14 are not capable of committing crimes according to California law, unless the prosecutor presents clear proof that the child had knowledge of the wrongfulness of his or her action.

A felony is a crime which is punishable with death or by imprisonment in the state prison. Every other crime or public offense is a misdemeanor except those offenses that are classified as infractions.