NEW PALTZ, New York, July 14, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A judge threw out all charges Tuesday against Unitarian Universalist ministers, Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey, for presiding over the weddings of 13 homosexual couples in March. None of the 13 same-sex couples possessed valid marriage licenses.
“There can be no constitutional rationale for denying same-sex couples the right to receive the benefits that are so lavishly bestowed on mixed-sex couples,” New Paltz Town Justice Judith Reichler wrote in her decision, as reported by the Associated Press.
District Attorney for Ulster County, Donald Williams, charged the women after they performed the illegal “marriages.” He argued that the services were “drastically different” from religious ceremonies, since Greenleaf and Sangrey stated publicly that they were civil marriages. Charges were also dismissed last month against New Paltz mayor Jason West, who officiated at 19 illegal same-sex “marriages” in February. Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: Kingston, New York, Ministers Charged for Conducting Homosexual “Marriages” https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04031609.html NY State Court Rules Banning New Paltz Mayor’s Same-Sex “Weddings” is Unconstitutional https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jun/04061108.html ph