Same-Sex Couples Taken Into Custody at SF City Hall For Trying to Attain Marriage Licenses

In what has become a sad, wistful annual Valentine's Day ritual, a bevy of same-sex marriage couples were taken into brief custody by San Francisco sheriff's deputies after trying -- and failing -- to obtain marriage licenses on Thursday, according to reports.

The scene is an annual protest organized by Marriage Equality USA, according to Bay City News. The couples say they are seeking equal treatment under the law.

Same-sex marriage has been illegal in California since the 2008 passage of Proposition 8. The US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on whether to keep or overturn the law on March 26, the news wire reported.

About 14 people remained in the city clerk's office after they were denied marriage licenses as an act of "civil disobedience." They were taken away by sheriff's deputies in plastic handcuffs and later released without being cited or arrested, the news wire reported.