Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute in Citrus Heights, Calif.—an affiliation of lawyers who defend church rights—said, "We are in the process of gathering the information that will be needed." He plans to file the lawsuit within two weeks.

At the March 9 council meeting, Dacus emphasized that the council would be breaking the law. The institute is also suing the mayor and city council of Seattle over a similar decision. Other speakers at last week's meeting threatened to recall the mayor.

San Jose City Attorney Richard Doyle disagreed with Dacus' contention that the city is breaking the law by recognizing same-sex marriages conducted in other cities. "The important thing is that we've not given a opinion—the council hasn't taken a stand—that this is legal or illegal under California law. We're just not going to discriminate. We have a right as any employer does to determine who we give benefits to." He added that the amount of money it would cost the city for the additional benefits is "insignificant."

Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee Director Debra Dake called the vote a "phenomenal act of courage." She shrugged off the threats. "We're not afraid of a recall effort at all," she said.

Dave Roche, member of the Almaden Business Association and Young Republicans in Silicon Valley, called the legal threats silly. "These types of things, the last place they should be decided is court. It should be decided by the people," he said.

A senior service coordinator at the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center said statements made by the opposition March 9 were comments he'd heard all his life. "Maybe only two were very, very hateful. The rest we hear all the time. We're very appreciative that the council put their careers and beliefs on the line."

Three city council members wrote a memo the Friday before the vote indicating they would not support the policy. However, of the three, only Chuck Reed was actually present at the meeting. Vice Mayor and District 10 Councilwoman Pat Dando and District 2 Councilman Forrest Williams were attending conferences in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, the trickle of newly married same-sex couples has come to a stop. On March 11, the California Supreme Court halted the San Francisco weddings without ruling on their legality. Whether the marriages are valid will be argued before the court this summer.

City health providers Blue Shield and Kaiser had already included "domestic partner" as part of their definitions of "spouse." There are 49 employees registered with domestic partners on the city's payroll, and an unknown percentage are same-sex couples.

Previously, an employee could enroll his or her domestic partner only during the annual open-enrollment period, while a married worker could enroll his or her spouse at any time. Although the health benefits for domestic partners and spouses were the same, retirement plans were not. In the event of the worker's death, a domestic partner would receive a single lump-sum payment. A widowed spouse receives a pension.