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(Nyack -WABC, April 5, 2004) — An anti-gay protest group returned to Nyack this morning. The small organization from out of state went to Nyack and New Paltz protesting the push for legalized gay marriage in New York. Police and local supporters of gay rights were there as well. Michelle Charleworth reports. The group that protested in the two towns today came here from a Baptist church in Kansas. Half of them were children. They came here to protest against gay marriage. They were joined by five people from here, who said later that they were ashamed. Police didn't allow...

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - Six ministers of the Unitarian Universalist Church performed marriage ceremonies for 25 same-sex couples Saturday, defying prosecutors who view the practice as illegal. The weddings, which the ministers consider to be legal unions, thus raising the ire of prosecutors, were held at a New Paltz bed and breakfast. There were no arrests and only one person showed up across the street from the inn to protest, said James Fallarino, a spokesman for the ceremony organizers. The Revs. Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey were scheduled to be arraigned Monday on misdemeanor charges for allegedly solemnizing marriages of...

The mainstream media have two complementary tactics in covering homosexual-related news: Flooding the zone with stories portraying gays as victims or heroes, and damming up the flow of information, when it would present gays in a less than favorable light. And sometimes both tactics are used within the same story.Consider coverage of the illegal same-sex “weddings” in San Francisco and New Paltz, New York. Several stories on the New Paltz “weddings” mentioned Tom Duane, an openly gay New York State Senator, who represents the Chelsea section of Manhattan.On March 2, Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams charged New Paltz Mayor...

Last Friday, a New York state judge issued a temporary restraining order that barred the mayor of New Paltz from performing same-sex "marriages." In his order, Judge Vincent Bradley said that Mayor Jason West had "[ignored] the oath of office that he took to uphold the law." On that same day, New York governor George Pataki promised that the state government was prepared to crack down on any local official that issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While this is good news and a step in the right direction in New York, we still have a long way to go...

<p>March 8, 2004 -- New Paltz Mayor Jason West joined the growing chorus of public officials calling on Mayor Bloomberg to state his position on marriage for gays and lesbians yesterday. "I think he should come out. I think it's time," West said. "We're seeing the flowering of the largest civil-rights movement our country's seen in a generation and I think public officials, especially prominent ones like Mayor Bloomberg, should come out and let the public know what their position is."</p>

Bloomberg and Mayor Who Performed Gay Weddings March at Alternative St. Patrick's Parade Mar. 7, 2004 By Karen Matthews / Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has sent mixed signals on same-sex marriage, and New Paltz Mayor Jason West, who was criminally charged for performing them, both marched Sunday in the gay-inclusive Queens St. Patrick's Day Parade. Bloomberg, who stands behind the state law banning same-sex marriages, and West also spoke at the parade in Queens, an alternative to the older Manhattan parade, which bans gay Irish groups from marching under their own banners. "What...

For Heather Whitefield and Ellen Dietz it's a moment they've been waiting for 11 years. Heather Whitefield said, “This is a personal thing in many ways but to have the public affirmation is so wonderful.” The Poughkeepsie couple was scheduled to tie the knot today...with New Paltz Mayor Jason West doing the honors. But even without West -- who is legally prevented from doing so -- the ceremonies went on at a different location. Rev. Kay Greenleaf said, “I said I'd be happy to pitch in and volunteer to help.” The Reverend Kay Greenleaf, a Unitarian Pastor, and her partner...

When small-town Mayor Jason West started presiding over gay weddings, he saw it as nothing short of "the flowering of the largest civil rights movement the country's had in a generation." "The people who would forbid gays from marrying in this country are those who would have made Rosa Parks sit in the back of the bus," said the Green Party mayor of New Paltz, N.Y. West's words have a strong resonance for gays and lesbians who feel their rights are being denied, but for blacks who worked to end racial discrimination in the 1950s and '60s, the reaction is...

<p>March 6, 2004 -- ALBANY - Maverick New Paltz Mayor Jason West yesterday abruptly called off his plan to perform up to two dozen more gay marriage ceremonies today. West's cave-in came the day after Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams told The Post he might seek jail time for the mayor if West continues to ignore the law.</p>

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)--A state judge on Friday barred the mayor of a college town from performing more same-sex marriages for a month, saying Jason West was ignoring his oath of office. State Supreme Court Justice Vincent Bradley issued a temporary restraining order against the 26-year-old New Paltz mayor at the request of the Florida-based Liberty Council, which acted on behalf of a local resident. ``The mayor in substance ignores the oath of office that he took to uphold the law,'' Bradley said. West performed his first spate of 25 same-sex marriages last Friday, drawing his village 75 miles north of...

MARCH 3--The New York mayor who married same-sex couples last week was hit yesterday with a 19-count criminal complaint charging him with illegally solemnizing those unions. Jason West, the 26-year-old New Paltz mayor, is scheduled to be arraigned this evening on the misdemeanor charges, which carry a maximum of a year in jail or a $500 fine. New Paltz Police Chief Raymond Zappone personally handed West the criminal summons yesterday afternoon after consulting with the local district attorney. For his part, West has vowed to continue marrying gay couples this weekend, claiming that his action is supported by New York...

The mayor of a small New York town who defiantly presided over same-sex weddings last week faces charges that could land him in jail for up to a year. Mayor Jason West Jason West, the 26-year-old mayor of New Paltz, was ordered this afternoon to appear in court Wednesday to answer for 19 violations of the state's domestic-relations law, New York Newsday reported. Last Friday, West solemnized 25 same-sex marriages and put another 500 names on a waiting list. West had planned to hold more ceremonies this weekend. But he now faces a possible fine of up to $500 along...

<p>March 4, 2004 -- The mayor of New Paltz pleaded not guilty last night to hitching gay couples who don't have marriage licenses - and he vowed not to stop. "The issue before us today is one of civil rights. It's one of human rights. It's one of basic human decency," Jason West said shortly after his arraignment in New Paltz Village Court.</p>

ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES OPINION ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today issued a legal analysis of the issues surrounding same sex marriage in New York. The analysis is meant to provide guidance to local officials throughout New York State as to whether they may issue marriage licenses to same sex couples and whether same sex marriages are valid in New York. Spitzer's office carefully reviewed the language and history of New York's Domestic Relations Law and other relevant statutes and issued an opinion from his office with the following findings: -The language of the New York State Domestic...

Rightly so, Mike Long, chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, has called on Attorney General Elliot Spitzer to halt New Paltz, New York's mayor from issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples. This flouting of the state law by the mayor and inaction by the attorney general, as in California, shows how liberals often disregard social and moral laws with which they disagree, arguing their loyalty is to conscience. Contrast this with the across the board calls for Alabama's attorney general a Republican to restrain Judge Roy Moore from displaying the Ten Commandments after a panel of judges ruled...

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (AP) -- The mayor of the town of New Paltz has been charged with 19 criminal counts for marrying same-sex couples. New Paltz Mayor Jason West said last Thursday it was his moral duty to marry homosexual couples. He issued marriage certificates to 25 gay couples. On Tuesday, Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams lodged 19 counts of ``solemnizing a marriage without a license'' against West.

Four days after presiding over a slew of same sex marriages in his quaint Hudson Valley village, the mayor of New Paltz today was charged with 19 violations of New York's domestic relations law, injecting the debate over gay marriages in the state with increasing drama and urgency.

Ulster County District Attorney charged the Mayor of New Paltz New York with 19 counts of solemnizing a wedding without a license.

QUEERLY BELOVEDAnother city backssame-sex marriageMayor taking license applications, follows lead of N.Y. college town Posted: March 1, 20045:00 p.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com On the heels of 25 same-sex weddings in a college town near New York City, the mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., announced today she will accept marriage license applications from homosexual couples. Ithaca, N.Y., Mayor Carolyn Peterson (Photo: News 10 Now Syracuse) Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson said same-sex weddings will not be performed, but the city will accept license applications and forward them to the state Health Department, reported News 10 Now, the Syracuse, N.Y., cable network. Last Friday, Jason...

Wedding Bells On Hold In New Paltz Gay Couples Rally For Licenses In New York City UPDATED: 9:32 AM EST March 1, 2004 NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- More than 500 gay couples who have signed up for marriage licenses in New Paltz will have to wait until this weekend to tie the knot. Mayor Jason West said Monday he is overwhelmed by the number of people inquiring about getting married, but he won't be able to perform any more weddings until Saturday. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said he would not seek an emergency court injunction to stop West...