Liberty Counsel
NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - 800-671-1776
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June
7, 2004
Judge
Issues Permanent Injunction Against New Paltz Mayor Jason West Ordering
Him to Stop Illegally Solemnizing Same-Sex Unions
Village
of New Paltz, NY – Today Judge E. Michael Kavanagh with the Ulster
County Supreme Court in New York issued a Permanent Injunction that ordered
Jason West, the 26-year old part-time Mayor of New Paltz, NY, to stop solemnizing
same sex “marriages.” The Injunction was issued in a lawsuit
filed by Liberty Counsel on behalf of Robert (Bob) Hebel, a member of the
New Paltz Board of Trustees. Mr. Hebel is represented by Mathew D. Staver,
President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, and Rena Lindevaldsen,
Senior Litigation Counsel for Liberty Counsel.
On
February 26, 2004, Mayor West announced he would solemnize marriages of
same-sex couples. On February 27, West solemnized the “marriages”
of 25 same-sex couples. He then created an “Affidavit of Marriage”
and a “Contract of Marriage” that he posted on the Village’s
web site. He said he was issuing these documents “in lieu of a Certificate
of Marriage” because the town clerk refused to issue a license. By
March 1, the website created a “Marriage Waiting List,” with
the next ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, March 6. West, who is a member
of the Green Party, thought it was “funny” that he had provoked
a fight, concluding, “This is the best day of my mayoral career.”
New
York law states that parties to a marriage must “solemnly declare”
that “they take each other as husband and wife.” A marriage
license must include a “statement or affidavit” containing information
from the “groom,” who is also called the “husband”
and the “bride.” It is a criminal misdemeanor for any person
to solemnize a marriage “without a license being presented to him,”
and violations are punishable with a fine of not less than $50.00 or by
imprisonment up to 1 year. On March 2, Donald Williams, Ulster County district
attorney, charged West with a 19 count indictment for illegally solemnizing
same-sex marriages without a license.
Judge
Kavanagh’s decision stated, “The impact of [Mayor West’s]
position, that an elected official may willfully violate a law anytime he
or she believes it is unconstitutional, has profound and unsettling implications.
This view, if accepted, would mean that the Mayor is a law unto himself
and would in certain circumstances have power that is simply incompatible
with a democratic form of government based on the rule of law.”
Staver
commented, “Knowingly disobeying the law is not a game. The Mayor
took an oath to uphold the law of New York. He knowingly and deliberately
violated that plain and unambiguous law. We are pleased that the rule of
law has returned to New Paltz permanently.” Staver concluded, “All
mayors throughout the United States should be on notice. An attempt to disregard
the plain law of the land by elected officials should be viewed for what
it is – illegal activity that must be brought to justice.”
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