Dare to Hope

Jason West cleared of all charges

In July, the district attorney for Ulster County, N.Y. dropped all charges against Mayor Jason West of New Paltz for performing two dozen same-sex marriage ceremonies at Village Hall. West called the decision a "complete vindication."

"Laws are often the last thing to fall into place," West said in an interview in The Columbia Political Review. "It took blacks in the South actually voting, or trying to vote, before the National Voting Rights Act of '65 came into effect. You gotta look at history for what's cause and what's effect, and often the law is the effect and not the cause of social change."

Miramax Books published West's own book, Dare to Hope: Saving American Democracy, in August 2005. With the book already in print, Greens are hoping Miramax will produce the feature film in the near future.

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