In West Hollywood, one of the first cities to create a domestic partner registry and one of the first to pass a resolution calling for same-sex marriage rights, crowds gathered abuzz at City Hall and in cafes, phones rang off the hook and several people said they wept with joy.

In San Francisco, where the first gay marriages in the country were performed at City Hill, changing the dynamics of the 2004 presidential campaign, Mayor Edwin M. Lee said the city was prepared to resume same-sex marriages as soon as the courts would allow it.

“As someone whose position has also evolved, I know this is an issue of equality and basic human rights,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican who risked his political career in 2007 by defying his party with his support of same-sex marriage. At the time, Sanders said he could not tell his gay daughter that she did not have the right to marry; the next year, Sanders won reelection with ease.

“Two people who love each other should be able to get married. It’s really as simple as that,” he said. “History will judge President Obama kindly for his decision.”

The reaction, of course, was not universally positive. Catholic League President Bill Donohue released a statement suggesting that Obama’s next logical step would be “Tom, Dick and Harry marrying,” and Mitt Romney, the expected Republican nominee for president, reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage.

“I’m not ready to accept this yet,” said Robert Morrison, 79, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday. His wife shook her head slightly, and noted that times have changed. Morrison was unmoved.

Across the street, Charles Mitchem, 52, of Paramount, said he also opposed the president’s position. “It’s the way

This article originally appeared on: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/obama-gay-marriage-reaction-california.html