San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said that he has no regrets about ordering city officials to marry same-sex couples three years ago, and is optimistic that marriage equality will one day be achieved.

"I'm more resolved than ever," Newsom said during a roundtable with three of the plaintiff couples in the California marriage case and representatives from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is serving as counsel for some of the couples. "I don't regret it – not for one second."

Monday, February 12 marked the third anniversary of the "Winter of Love." In the ensuing month, just over 4,000 same-sex couples got married. The state Supreme Court then ordered a halt to the nuptials, and the legal battle began and the cases were consolidated.

First, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled in March 2005 that the state's laws restricting marriage to a union between a man and a woman are unconstitutional. In October 2006, however, the state Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, overturned Kramer's ruling.

In December 2006, the California Supreme Court said that it would review the six same-sex marriage cases. Shannon Minter, legal director at NCLR, said Monday that a briefing schedule has been determined that extends well into this summer and that the matter is not likely to be decided by the high court until 2008.

In the meantime, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) has reintroduced his gender-neutral marriage bill in the legislature.

Monday evening in City Hall, Newsom was greeted with sustained applause when he appeared at a reception organized by the city and Marriage Equality USA. Though noticeably smaller that the one-year anniversary party in 2005, a couple hundred people were on hand to celebrate the historic event.

That morning during the roundtable, Jewelle Gomez and Diane Sabin, one of the plaintiff couples, said they are angry that the state's marriage laws have not changed.

"Right now, I'm feeling very angry," said Gomez. "It's as if people are saying, 'come in the side door.' It feels like the same people who were saying a black child could not come into school. I'm old enough to have seen that. Separate is not equal."

Sabin added, " The anger is shared but tempered. We think this is going to make the world a better place."

Sabin and Gomez were not married in City Hall, but joined the lawsuit to ensure that they can choose when, and if, they will get married.

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney did get married in City Hall, and are part of the lawsuit challenging the state's marriage law.

"That moment is unforgettable," Lewis said. "We just ran into City Hall."

Gaffney said that some years ago, the couple registered as domestic partners with the state.

"Getting married was a world away from that," he said, holding up a copy of their marriage certificate. "This means the world to us."

Pali Cooper and Jeanne Rizzo were the first couple turned away after the state's high court ordered a halt to the weddings. They were crushed. Rizzo's son, whom the women had raised together, was with them. Rizzo said the experience made him question a relationship he was in at the time and end it.

"It made us all closer," she said.

Full disclosure: Cynthia Laird married her partner, Vicky Kolakowski, in City Hall, on February 12, 2004.