British woman's gay marriage fight

Campaigners staged a rally in protest at the court's ruling

A British woman fears she will have to give up her new life in San Francisco after the Supreme Court of California annulled her lesbian marriage.

Belinda Ryan says the court's ruling means her partner cannot sponsor her green card, so when her visa expires they will have to leave the country.

All 4,000 gay and lesbian marriages performed by the mayor of San Francisco have been annulled.

Ms Ryan, originally from Swansea, has been living in the US for five years.

This is the land of the free yet it's not treating its gay and lesbian population in the same way as it treats anyone else Belinda Ryan

The court ruled on Thursday that the mayor, Gavin Newsom, had overstepped his authority by issuing same-sex marriage licences earlier this year.

Ms Ryan and Ms Daw were one of 4,000 same-sex couples married in the city between 12 February and 11 March, before the court issued an injunction halting the weddings.

They work and own a house together in the city but now Ms Ryan fears they will have to leave.

Legal challenges

Ms Ryan told BBC Radio 4: "When we got married it was like wow - society has at long last accepted us as we are.

"My immigration only allows me to stay here while my work visa runs, and that expires next year which means I'm going to have to leave the country.

"Which means Wendy, my partner, is going to have to live in exile from her country.

"This is the land of the free yet it's not treating its gay and lesbian population in the same way as it treats anyone else."

Mr Newsom gave the go-ahead to issue same-sex marriage licences, saying current legislation was discriminatory.

But conservative groups launched legal challenges to nullify them.

President George W Bush opposes gay marriage and is seeking to change the US constitution to specify that marriage can only take place between a man and a woman.

Gay marriage is banned in 38 US states, but lawsuits in Florida, Nebraska, New Jersey and Oregon are seeking to have it ruled legal.