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Support Urged for Green Mayor to be Tried for Officiating Same-Sex Marriages. Monday, June 6, 2005 Contacts: GREENS URGE SUPPORT FOR MAYOR JASON WEST OF NEW PALTZ, N.Y., AS HE FACES PROSECUTION FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGES Green Party leaders see political motivation as West is singled out for solemnizing same-sex weddings. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders appealed to all Americans and organizations who value human rights to speak out in support of Mayor Jason West of New Paltz, New York. Mr. West, a member of the Green Party, will face prosecution for violating domestic relations law for officiating at the weddings of 24 same-sex couples in 2004, according to a ruling on May 27 from New York's highest court. Mayor West, whose case will be heard in a New Paltz town court, performed the ceremonies to champion the rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans. "The State of New York wants to punish an elected Green Mayor for performing same-sex marriages and defending the constitutional guarantee of equal protection," said Chaia Lehrer, who was married in New Paltz and is a member of the Green Party. "While Democrats and moderate Republicans have backtracked on gay rights during and since the 2004 election, the Green Party has enthusiastically endorsed equal marriage rights for same-sex couples." "The West prosecution is more than a court case. It's a measure of the willingness of political leaders, parties, and elected officials to stand up for freedom and human rights," added Ms. Lehrer, who noted that New York Gov. George Pataki and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have claimed that same-sex marriages violate state law. "Mayor West's defense should be a national cause célèbre for gay rights." Mayor West, who faces a maximum of 24 years in prison and thousand of dollars in fines for multiple misdemeanor counts if convicted, will be represented in court by E. Joshua Rosenkranz of Heller, Ehrman, White, McAuliffe. "By performing same-sex marriages, we are upholding the U.S. and New York State constitutions, as well as our party platform which defends human and civil rights," said Rebecca Rotzler, New Paltz Deputy Mayor, who has also performed a same-sex marriage. Greens have called the prosecution of Mayor West politically motivated. Greens noted that two Unitarian ministers conducted more than a dozen same-sex weddings in s New Paltz. But when a New Paltz judge threw out the charges against the ministers, Ulster County District Attorney Don Williams did not seek reinstatement of the charges. Furthermore, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco conducted a few thousand weddings, but even though the weddings themselves were held to be invalid and were ordered to be stopped, no charges were filed against Mayor Newsom, who happens to be a Democrat. Greens observed that D.A. Williams ran for office on the Republican, Conservative, Democratic, and Independence party lines (New York allows fusion candidacies), and that the Ulster County Democratic Party nominated Mr. Williams as their own candidate and gave him their ballot line. Greens also noted that the initial legal effort against Mayor West was led by an organization called the Liberty Counsel <http://www.lc.org>, which serves as the the legal arm of Jerry Falwell ministries. Liberty Counsel offers an online store <https://www.lc.org/Store/index.html>, where a percentage of every purchase -- from companies such as Avon, Barnes & Noble, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, LL Bean, Old Navy, and The Gap -- is donated to Liberty Counsel <http://www.lc.onecause.com>. "Americans who support human rights should know that some of their favorite brands are contributing to Jerry Falwell's vicious antigay witchhunt against heroes like Jason West," said Jason Jones, Louisiana Green and chair of the national Lavender Green Caucus. MORE INFORMATION
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