The newlywed, whose marriage has since been nullified by the California Supreme Court, is now working feverishly to help elect John Kerry, a candidate who openly opposes same-sex marriage but supports civil unions.

"I should be like, 'Damn you, Kerry,'" Maloney said, smiling as he shook a fist in the air, "but I just got over it. There's not too much Kerry can do to make me angry."

In San Francisco's gay community, that sentiment is widespread. For many gays, including Maloney, Kerry's opposition to same-sex marriage is a political necessity and a minor blemish on what looks like a perfect record. Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay and lesbian organization in America, has given the Senator a 100-percent rating, noting his support of gay adoption and domestic-partner benefits.

On the other hand, President Bush's insistence on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage has stood out in the gay community.

"It would be great if Kerry would say 'I support gay marriage,'" said Rich Kowalewski, co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club. "But Bush has declared war on the gay community and that has united us."

Gay voters may temporarily forgive Kerry's position on marriage for different reasons, but community members warn that they will closely watch Kerry's agenda on gay rights should he succeed on Election Day.

On Thursday evening, Maloney was one of a few gay men who showed up at the city's Democratic headquarters to participate in a large-scale "Get Out the Vote" phone banking session. They came as members of the Alice B. Toklas Club, which has been active in promoting Kerry for president.

The group, which has 550 members, has placed ads in gay media outlets such as the Bay Area Reporter and the Bay Times. Recently, it sent volunteers to Nevada for a door-to-door campaign and mailed 30,000 cards to local same-sex households and likely gay voters encouraging residents to vote Democratic.

"There is an element in the gay community that is quite satisfied with what Kerry said," said Rich Kowalewski, the club's co-chair. "Since Kerry supports civil unions, that's huge. He's just not calling it marriage because he doesn't want to offend people who see it as a religious institution."

Christine Gephart and her girlfriend, Beth Pridham, see little to complain about in regard to Kerry's stance on the marriage issue. "It's not the most important thing in my life," said Pridham.

"It doesn't bother me. Whatever he has to do to get elected, I'm in support of," said Gephart, "Even if that means talking about gay rights less."

Thom Lynch, Executive Director of the city's LGBT Center, said that gays should stay attuned to Kerry's positions.

"I don't think we should fool ourselves. If people want to be our ally, they should be totally out of the closet. Sometimes it's our friends who do us the most harm," he said.

Thom is weary of politicians who use the gay community as a political football, citing the recent controversy sparked when Kerry discussed Mary Cheney's sexual orientation during the debates.

"I definitely think John Kerry was making a political point," Thom said. "She's a symbol of an issue that they're tossing around, but nobody knows what Mary Cheney thinks. I think the community as a whole stands up for itself."

"Whatever happens in this election, there are going to be some hard-fought discussions abut what's going in respect to gay rights. We're going to be paying attention to that."

Kerry is on Maloney's good side for now. Should Kerry win, he said, "Come November 2, that will all change. I'll be watching him like a hawk."