N.Y. Town's Mayor Charged in Gay Weddings

I suppose we all should have seen this coming:

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The village's mayor was charged Tuesday
with 19 criminal counts for performing weddings for gay couples, an act
of defiance that thrust the small community into the center of the
national debate over same-sex marriage.
Jason West was charged with solemnizing marriages for couples who had
no licenses, a misdemeanor under the domestic relations law, according
to Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams. Although West could
face a maximum penalty of a year in jail, the prosecutor said a jail
term wasn't being contemplated at this point. The 26-year-old Green
Party mayor said he will plead innocent at his court hearing Wednesday
and that he would still go through with his plans to marry as many as
two dozen gay couples Saturday. "I'm incredibly disappointed," West
said. "Apparently, it's a crime to uphold the constitution of New York
state." West performed wedding ceremonies for 25 gay couples Friday,
making him the second mayor in the country to perform same-sex
marriages. It also made this small college village 75 miles north of
New York City another flash point in the national debate over gay
marriage. More than 3,400 couples have been married in San Francisco
and West has about 1,000 couples on a waiting list.
[...]
With West vowing to go through with more gay weddings, opponents had
hoped Williams would act to stop him. But he said he did not have the
legal power to do that, only to file charges after the fact. West said
the prospect of further punishment does not deter him, adding that the
newlywed couples inspire him. "Just the looks on their faces, just the
absolute joy of finally being able to be equal," he said. "That is the
highest moral calling I could possibly imagine."

Posted by flow Frazao on March 2, 2004 at 07:42 PM | Permalink