Many members of the GLBT community were stunned Tuesday by the surprise vote by District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye against the city adding its name to sign a friend-of-the-court brief in an appeal to the California Supreme Court about the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

As a result, the City Council vote was tied at 4-4, and no action was taken. The motion needed five votes to be approved. District 3 Councilmember Toni Atkins asked the Council to sign the amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court). Voting with Atkins were Councilmembers Jim Madaffer, Scott Peters, and Ben Hueso.

Frye joined Councilmembers Kevin Faulconer, Tony Young, and Brian Maienschein in voting against the city getting involved in the case that originated in San Francisco. The mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, but the state Supreme Court halted that practice and later invited input to resolve the constitutional issues involved with issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

“After all we did for Donna Frye,” said Charles McKain, afterwards. “What’s wrong with her?”

Longtime activist Gloria Johnson wept, as did others as they filed out of council chambers Tuesday afternoon.

James Hartline, an ex-gay activist who says he is no longer homosexual, led a group of people to oppose the city filing a friend-of-the-court brief. His Web site claimed it was “the most dangerous attack on Christian values to ever come before the San Diego City Council” and described same-sex marriage as “an evil act.”

Afterwards, Hartline told his followers: “It’s over for now. We’re done. We won.”

Hours later, Frye told the Gay & Lesbian Times why she voted against the motion.

“It was not a proper process. That’s why I voted against it,” said Frye, adding that the public had too little time to even know about the debate that day.

“If they bring it back, I’ll vote for it,” said Frye to a reporter.

The item has been redocketed for Sept. 18.

The deadline to submit the amicus brief is now Sept. 26, but originally the deadline was Sept. 17.

Frye noted her displeasure with the timing of the vote during the hearing. She said she first learned of the vote when she picked up her Council docket on the Wednesday before the Labor Day weekend.

“The average person does not know this is on the agenda today,” said Frye. “People should be given four to five days notice on such a controversial issue. I have a problem with the process.”

Frye made a motion to delay the hearing for several weeks to give the public more time to know about it. Faulconer seconded Frye’s motion to delay it, but it lost in a 3-5 vote after only getting Tony Young to vote for a delay. Atkins and Peters said a delay would only end up having the same presentation and discussion.

City Attorney Michael Aguirre said the matter was properly noticed for the hearing to proceed. Atkins’ motion directed him to write a friend-of-the-court brief, and he said he agreed with it.

“Basically, the issue is a lot of people don’t feel gay people should have the same rights as people who are not gay. That’s really what it comes down to,” said Aguirre. “This important decision is a constitutional issue.”

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera urged the Council to join in the legal battle. Los Angeles, Oakland, Long Beach, West Hollywood, and Oakland have already done so.

“We’re not talking about forcing churches to hold same-sex marriages. We’re talking about a state marriage license,” said Herrera.

Hartline is a candidate for the District 3 seat in 2008. Todd Gloria, Stephen Whitburn, and John Hartley, who are also running to succeed Atkins, also showed up, and signed speakers’ slips but waived their time to speak to others, as speakers were limited to one minute each.

Harry Mathis, a Republican who served two terms as the District 5 Council district in the 1990s, urged the Council to sign the amicus brief. He introduced one of his daughters, Laura Mathis, who said she is a lesbian and lives with her partner of 15 years, and their child. A same-sex couple who wore matching shirts that said “second class citizen” also spoke.

Chris Clark, an opponent, told the Council “what this is about is the normalization of a sexual behavior and a sexual lifestyle.” He said the issue “is not about equal rights...but a relentless assault on traditional marriage.”

Madaffer, a Republican, said his vote in favor of the amicus brief might surprise some, but added he believed “it’s a civil rights issue” and “I think it’s wrong to deny civil rights.”