Politics
Friday June 11, 2004
NY State Court Rules Banning New Paltz Mayor's Same-Sex "Weddings" is Unconstitutional
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NEW YORK, June 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A New York state judge on Thursday threw out all charges against New Paltz mayor Jason West for performing same-sex "marriages" without licenses. Judge Jonathan Katz ruled that an earlier ban by a lower court was unconstitutional. On Tuesday, Judge E. Michael Kavanagh, of the Ulster County Supreme Court in New York, issued a Permanent Injunction ordering West to stop solemnizing same sex "marriages."
"None of the reasons stated in opposition to same-sex marriage is paramount to the equal protection guarantees enshrined in the state and federal constitutions," Judge Katz' ruling stated, according to a Reuters news report. "Even if the financial issues could be addressed in some comprehensive way short of allowing same-sex partners to marry, there would still be no emotional substitute for marriage."
A spokeswoman for the New York Attorney General's office said, "We are reviewing the decision."
Meanwhile, two professors of law are urging U.S. bishops, holding a meeting in Denver next week, to introduce a parish-led initiative to reinforce support for the federal marriage amendment.
"Our goal in defending marriage is to ensure that we have a healthy future as a people," wrote co-authors of the initiative, Princeton professor Robert P. George, and Notre Dame professor Gerard V. Bradley, as reported by the Rocky Mountain News. "The pace and trajectory of judicial [same-sex marriage] decisions leave our political leaders little choice but to constitutionalize the definition of marriage, and little time in which to do it," they warn.
U.S. Catholic bishops hold a special assembly every five years -- this year it will be in Englewood, Colorado, from June 14 to 19.
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Judge Permanently Bars U.S. Mayor from Illegally Solemnizing Same-Sex Unions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jun/04060910.html
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