If the experts are right and this week's historic California Supreme Court ruling triggers thousands of same-sex marriages starting as soon as mid-June, Suzanne Salinas of Oxnard knows where she wants to be:

At the front of the line.

"I called the clerk and said, I want to be the first one,'" the office manager said at a Ventura celebration a day after court justices overturned the state's ban on gay marriages in a 4-3 decision.

Many observers and gay rights leaders predict if the expected request for a legal stay is denied and the marriage ruling becomes official after 30 days, gays and lesbians from nearly every state will journey to government offices across California to get marriage licenses. They cite the more than 4,000 couples who waited in long lines when city officials started issuing marriage licenses in San Francisco for a month in March 2004.

"I expect to see the same thing happen here," said Brad Sears, executive director of UC Los Angeles' Williams Institute research center on legal issues related to sexual orientation. "There's a huge pent-up demand, decades of pent-up demand."

Salinas wants a license because after 17 years of what she always considered a marriage to her partner, she's on the cusp of finally being given the right to have that piece of paper and symbol of equality. She says it's a legal and moral issue, then citing another reason for wanting to be married before the Nov. 4 general election.

"I think there's a really good chance that awful, discriminatory initiative is going to pass, and then we're back where we started," she said.

A snarl of litigation

The initiative is a constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to a man and a woman. Supporters have gathered about 1.1 million signatures, including more than 21,000 from Ventura County. If about 763,000 of the signatures are deemed valid by counties around the state, the proposal will be approved for the November ballot sometime before the end of June.

Many legal experts say the constitutional amendment would supersede this week's court ruling, though Shannon Minter, a San Francisco lawyer who argued for same-sex marriage before the state Supreme Court, said it's not clear what would happen.

David Cruz, a University of Southern California constitutional law professor, said the courts would likely have to deal with balancing a gay marriage ban with the state Supreme Court's finding that same-sex couples can't be given a different status than other couples.

Glen Lavey, the Alliance Defense Fund lawyer who argued against gay marriage before the court, doesn't buy that argument.

"In California, the people are the ones with the final say. They are truly the high court," Lavey said.

The court could stay its decision until the November election, but Cruz said the court wouldn't have released its ruling this week if it planned on delaying its implementation for several months.

Lawyers also bicker on what happens to marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples if an initiative passes in November.

"I think it would almost certainly wipe them all out," Cruz said. But Sears said he believes the marriages would be recognized. Lavey predicts that in either scenario there will be a snarl of litigation.

Gay rights leaders predict the initiative will fail. They say people want to get married as quickly as possible not because they fear November, but to show the importance of a right that has been previously denied.

"We're not going to wait. We've been waiting too long," said Ron Suckle, president of Stonewall Democrats, a gay and lesbian advocacy group and an organizer of Friday's celebration at the Ventura County Government Center.

A joining of the soul'

The rally drew about 60 people. One woman held one sign that said "Justly Married" and another that said "Finally." A gray-haired man held an American flag.

A same-sex couple that married four years ago in Massachusetts and has relocated to Ventura told the crowd the legal union strengthened an already strong bond.

Adam Holbrook and Tony Morosco of Simi Valley held hands as they took it all in. They've been together for six years and want to be married in a carefully planned ceremony that involves both of their families. They're not sure about having a minister but know they want more than a ceremony under an arbor of plastic flowers in a government office.

"It's not a justice of the peace thing. It's a joining of the soul," Holbrook said, noting the couple will likely wait until after November to get married because they don't want to rush.

He also believes the court ruling is a precedent that won't go away. Even if a ban is passed in November, he believes it won't last long.

"We're in it for the long haul," added Morosco, trying to explain the importance of Thursday's ruling. "It means I may realize my dream of marrying the person I love and staying with him the rest of my life. It means the world to me."

Cruz of USC argued counties could begin immediately issuing marriage licenses. Though the marriage licenses issued by the city of San Francisco four years ago were later invalidated, the new licenses would stand up because of the weight of Thursday's state Supreme Court ruling, he said.

David Valenzuela, operations manager of the Ventura County Clerk and Recorder, said the county will wait until an official go-ahead from the state. He told the crowd at the rally it's possible licenses could be issued as soon as June 16, depending on what happens in the courts. And if there are long lines of people, the county might follow its current plan for Valentine's Day, opening a second room where couples can get married.