SAN FRANCISCO -- Hundreds of thousands of people on Sunday packed gay pride events from Chicago to New York City, Seattle to San Francisco, with overall attendance expected in the millions just days after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
In San Francisco, a parade that at times resembled a rainbow-colored dance party snaked through downtown. Cheerleaders, dancers and proud families of lesbians and gays swooped up Market Street as spectators flocked 10 to 15 people deep along both sides.
There were "Hooray for Gay" and "Love Won" signs. There were rainbow flags and knee socks, umbrellas and tutus.
SF Pride Board President Gary Virginia said the exuberance was amplified given last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples can wed in all 50 states. Still, he said, more needs to be done in housing and job discrimination in the United States and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world.
"Today, we celebrate," Virginia said. "Tomorrow, we get back to work."
San Francisco organizers put the number of marchers at 26,000, while in New York City, organizers expected about 22,000 people.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his newly granted powers to officiate at the wedding ceremony of a same-sex couple in Manhattan. It was held in front of the Stonewall Inn, where in 1969 gay bar patrons stood up to a police raid, launching the modern gay-rights movement.
In Texas, however, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the Supreme Court decision giving same-sex couples the right to marry a "lawless ruling" and said state workers can cite their religious objections in denying marriage licenses.
He warned in a statement Sunday that any clerk, justice of the peace or other administrator who declines to issue a license to a same-sex couple could face litigation or a fine.
But in the nonbinding legal opinion, Paxton says "numerous lawyers" stand ready to defend, free of charge, any public official refusing to grant one.
In its 5-4 opinion Friday, the Supreme Court's ruling did nothing to eliminate rights of religious liberty, Paxton's opinion states.
"This newly minted federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage can and should peaceably coexist with longstanding constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of speech," he wrote.
While many Republicans have said they disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling, officials in most states have said that they will abide by it. Paxton's comments echoed those Friday of Gov. Greg Abbott, who said Texans can't be forced by the court ruling to act contrary to their religious beliefs.
The Supreme Court's ruling was hailed as a watershed by many at gay pride parades in Paris and other cities outside the U.S. on Saturday.
"Soon in all countries we will be able to marry," said Celine Schlewitz, a 25-year-old nurse taking part in the Paris parade. "Finally a freedom for everyone."
Street celebrations were boosted Saturday in Dublin, where Ireland mounted the biggest gay-rights parade in the country's history. But in Turkey, police used water cannons to clear a rally Sunday in Istanbul. It wasn't clear why the police intervened in the peaceful rally. The crowd regrouped a few blocks away.
In San Francisco, police said a bystander was shot at a gay pride event at the city's civic center Saturday when several men got into an argument unrelated to the celebration. A 64-year-old man was shot in the arm, and he is expected to survive, said officer Carlos Manfredi on Sunday.
Dykes on Bikes, a lesbian motorcycle club, traditionally kicks off the city's pride parade. Riders revved their engines for five minutes and received a sprinkling of silver glitter from a bystander before setting off at 10:30 a.m. to hoots and cheers and unbridled applause.
Corporate sponsors included home-sharing platform Airbnb, which had a float with dancers shimmying on a bed and in a bathtub. Apple sent a large contingent of people clad in white T-shirts.
Kelsey Brosler, a 17-year-old high school student from Concord, Calif., and mother Carlene Brosler, 45, were among the spectators. The younger Brosler, who recently came out as pansexual, said the Supreme Court decision was a long time coming.
"Definitely the fight is not over yet. I know everyone here is still fighting," Kelsey said. "Even though it's a very happy event, there's still more to come."
Information for this article was contributed by Gregory Katz, Raphael Satter, Verena Dobnik, Sara Burnett and Betsy Blaney of The Associated Press.
A Section on 06/29/2015