Councilmember Wants S.D. to Join Effort to Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Ban

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published September 4, 2007 at 9:43 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

The California Supreme Court has prohibited same sex marriages. But several cities in the state are challenging the ban. San Diego city councilmember Toni Atkins wants the council here to join in that

The California Supreme Court has prohibited same sex marriages. But several cities in the state are challenging the ban. San Diego city Councilmember Toni Atkins wants the council here to join in that challenge. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Councilwoman Atkins wants her colleagues to sign on to an amicus brief that already has the support of six California cities and counties, including Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland and San Mateo. The letter would back the city of San Francisco's effort to overturn the State Supreme Court's 2005 decision. The court ordered Mayor Gavin Newsom to stop issuing licenses to same sex couples.

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Atkins: I just hope that my colleagues recognize that they represent a segment of the population in San Diego that have lesser rights, that is just an issue of plain discrimination, it's not fair, but do I expect controversy? Yes, I do.

Atkins says the city of San Diego has already taken several progressive steps such as sanctioning domestic partnerships and passing a human dignity ordinance. The issue will be before the city council this morning at its first meeting following the summer recess. Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.