GAVIN Newsom, 41, the Irish American mayor of San Francisco, made the national headlines on May 15 when California's State Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. But Newsom first achieved national prominence in 2004 when he issued a directive to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, causing several other states to amend their laws concerning marriage and gay rights.The youngest mayor in the city for over 100 years, at first glance Newsom looks like an unlikely candidate to take such a bold step. As an undergraduate at Santa Clara University he was an accomplished basketball player and a noted jock, and hardly the sort of person you'd expect to meet at the front lines of such a contentious social issue.Back in 2004 his extraordinary, widely criticized move on same-sex marriage seemed like a bridge too far to even many of his city's most liberal voters, and he was credited by the GOP for helping to tilt the national election in their favor. At the time Newsom was telling anyone who would listen that his political career was over.And yet what looked like a political suicide mission in 2004 is starting to look politically prescient in 2008. The fact is that in California same-sex marriage has now become a thoroughly mainstream proposition. Nationally it is no longer the conservative red meat issue that it was, nor is California's recent ruling expected to gain the same political traction it did four years earlier. (According to a Gallup poll conducted this month, just 16% of Americans think that a presidential candidate must share their view on gay marriage). Some commentators have already begun to credit Newsom for his political foresight, a compliment that bodes well for him as a potential candidate for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Newsom is convinced that the march of history is trending in his direction."It's a difficult issue, candidly," he told the Irish Voice during an interview last week. "Coming from an Irish Catholic background it was made even more difficult. I have a large family with a very strong connection to the church. "I understand some of the opposition to the issue on a very personal level. At the same time I'm a student of history. There was a time when Protestants and Catholics were not legally able to marry in this country, when blacks were not able to marry whites - that last issue was only legalized in 1967. "Over forty years ago there were still states that denied interracial marriage. I feel very strongly that the remaining issue of time in terms of foundational civil rights is with the gay and lesbian community. I was not nave to the political or personal consequences - and I share that with you because they weighed heavily on me when the decision was made. But I felt it was the right thing to do."Newsom adds particular emphasis to the last sentence. It's clear that his original decision and all of the changes that have come from it were guided by that contention. "Here we are four years later and I appreciate that the California Supreme Court - six of the seven judges were Republican appointees - adjudicated in favor of our position. It was an extraordinary day personally and professionally," he said.Newsom is appreciative of how difficult the decision was for the judges, who will forever be referenced in the history books associated with this issue. Their professional lives have been altered, he acknowledges. "I have heard from Chief Justice Ronald M. George who spoke publicly about the ruling," says Newsom. "On a personal level I know that this decision was made easier for him because of his own experiences as a child in the south, where he saw how blacks were treated. That weighed heavily on his mind as it related to the idea that separate is not equal." Newsom contends that in 2008 same sex marriage is not the wedge issue it was in 2004. People have simply grown tired of all the rancor and rhetoric, he says. It's significant, he adds, that none of the presidential candidates have given strong reactions to the recent ruling. "There's a generational aspect to this question," says Newsom. "Many people have moved beyond it. They say big deal. I go to Massachusetts all the time and no one ever brings up the issue of same-sex marriage. It has not ended marriage as an institution, the sky hasn't fallen, and the world hasn't come to an end. Lets talk about health care and education."Newsom and his fiance Jennifer Siebel, 34, plan to tie the knot at the bride's family ranch in Montana's Bitterroot River valley on July 26.