Hours after a second Superior Court judge refused to stop same-sex weddings in San Francisco, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told the state's attorney general yesterday to take "immediate steps" to stop gay marriages.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Mr Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer saying, because the city's actions "are directly contrary to state law and present an imminent risk to civil order, I hereby direct you to take immediate steps to obtain a definite judicial resolution of this controversy".
In a speech to California's state Republican Party convention, Mr Schwarzenegger said he asked the attorney general to move as quickly as possible on the issue of gay marriages.
"It's time for the city of San Francisco to start respecting state law," he added.
In 2000, California voters passed a referendum known as Proposition 22, which declared marriage could only be between a man and woman. But thousands of gay couples have been married at City Hall after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom lifted a ban on gay marriages last week.
A group known as the Campaign for California Families had filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the city from performing same-sex marriages. They argued the unions were a waste of taxpayer money and violated Proposition 22.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ronald Quidachay denied their request yesterday, saying the Campaign for California Families group did not show "competent evidence" that irreparable harm would be caused by allowing the weddings to continue.
Judge Quidachay also said San Francisco attorneys would need to explain why the city should be allowed to continue issuing same-sex marriage licences.