Rosie O'Donnell weds girlfriend

O'Donnell (right) and Kelli Carpenter were serenaded

US actress and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has married girlfriend Kelli Carpenter at a ceremony in San Francisco.

O'Donnell said the wedding was inspired by outrage at President George W Bush's proposal to ban same-sex marriages.

The wedding took place before hundreds of cheering onlookers at City Hall.

San Francisco began issuing gay wedding certificates two weeks ago, although California's Attorney General plans legal action to end same-sex marriages.

"We were both inspired to come here after the sitting president said the vile and vicious and hateful comments he did," O'Donnell said.

President Bush proposed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex weddings on Tuesday, citing the recent flood of gay marriages in San Francisco.

Divided

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has also spoken out against the unions.

O'Donnell and Ms Carpenter were serenaded by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus who sang Chapel of Love as they departed after the ceremony.

Gay couples heralded the celebrity wedding, saying it would make gay marriages more acceptable.

"It means this view will be brought to a wider audience of America in a positive light," said Hans Hansen, 32, who had also just married his partner.

"People are going to identify with Rosie," he added.

More than 3,300 gay couples have married in San Francisco since the new mayor, Gavin Newsom, announced he would allow gay nuptials two weeks ago.

The decision has since sparked a nationwide debate on the subject.