# New Paltz, New York, to perform same-sex marriages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410 "2004-02-27T03:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/21 "2004-02-29T06:37:54Z")
I live 45 minutes from New Paltz. The road on my corner takes me to SUNY New Paltz without making a turn. It’s a lovely little town. Yes, the Mayor IS already in major hot water with the town establishment. Yes, he IS using national publicity to garner strength to fight that battle. It doesn’t matter. He is taking a stand that’s dicey in the eyes of Elliot Spitzer- a man not to be trifled with in any quarter. NY State Law is fairly ambiguous- the wording does allow for same- sex marriage, as it does NOT specify gender. Our dear friends the lesbian couple were over tonight for food, drink and talk. They didn’t say they were driving up to get hitched, but Her birthday is next weekend, and I think they may elope. 😃 More power to 'em. My suspicion is that Margaret Atwood is sitting on the other side of the US-Canadian border, wringing her hands, gasping in terror and screaming, **" You IDIOTS, it was just a SCIENCE FICTION STORY !!! You weren’t meant to really DO IT !!! "**. The nauseating march of Gilead is closer than ever in the United States of America. I applaud the Mayors of San Francisco, New Paltz and any other municipality that is forcing this issue. It needs to be clarified, and IMHO it needs to be clarified and then left alone. Adults get married. Gender is not the rule of law, dedication to your spouse should be the only rule of law. My two cents. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/22 "2004-02-29T20:35:51Z")
Sorry about the slight hijack, but this caught my eye: > [@](#): > > My suspicion is that Margaret Atwood is sitting on the other side of the US-Canadian border, wringing her hands, gasping in terror and screaming, " You IDIOTS, it was just a SCIENCE FICTION STORY !!! You weren’t meant to really DO IT !!! Actually, what she said is: > [@](#): > > “Three years later - after 9/11, after the coming of right-wing religious ideology to the White House and, most importantly, after the erosion of constitutional rights of many kinds - this piece seems eerily prescient,” the novelist wrote. (The Handmaid’s Tale is being made into an opera and I remembered reading the quote. The rest of the story can be found here: [http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/08/Floridian/In\_opera\_s\_brave\_new\_.shtml](http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/08/Floridian/In_opera_s_brave_new_.shtml) amoung other places). ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/23 "2004-02-29T21:36:59Z")
I am just totally loving this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/24 "2004-02-29T23:02:04Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I live 45 minutes from New Paltz . . . " . . . think of the changes it brings; For the short time it takes, what a difference it makes In the ways of the people and things. Oh! what a fine bunch of rubens, Oh! what a jay atmosphere; They have whiskers like hay, and imagine New Paltz only forty-five minutes from here!" . . . Sorry. Had a Geo. M. Cohan attack . . . ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/25 "2004-02-29T23:39:15Z")
I was thinking more of Gene Pitney and Tulsa, but I’m in a bow-tie and slick hair mood. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/26 "2004-03-01T00:15:35Z")
Hooray, Paltz, NY, and cheers to the people there willing to take up the gage and stand up for what they think is right. What government has the right to tell two people they have no right to commit themselves to each other, in every way, legally included, and still call itself a “free country” ? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/27 "2004-03-01T00:27:00Z")
Er. Platz, too… er… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/28 "2004-03-01T00:43:46Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > What government has the right to tell two people they have no right to commit themselves to each other, in every way, legally included, and still call itself a “free country” ? A government busily creating new rules, of course. Or a government some of whose members (but even moreso, some of whose financially-contributing non-governmental investors) believe in protecting the sanctity of marriage by prohibiting gay marriage … but doing nothing about divorce, for example. If marriage is so sacred, why is anyone able to both enter into and exit out of it?[/GD] ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/29 "2004-03-01T00:45:57Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > . . . Sorry. Had a Geo. M. Cohan attack . . . So, did you become a brittle, arrogent sonofabitch and get hated by all your cohorts on the Great White Way? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/30 "2004-03-01T16:37:59Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > He is taking a stand that’s dicey in the eyes of Elliot Spitzer- a man not to be trifled with in any quarter. Spitzer is [staying out of it…for now](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/02/022804moreNY.htm). > [@](#): > > But, in a move that pits Spitzer, a Democrat, against Republican Governor George Pataki, the Attorney General said he would not seek a restraining order. > > “We are not seeking an injunction against the New Paltz mayor or > others solemnizing same-sex marriages,” Spitzer said. “The standard for > an injunction is immediate and irreparable harm, and that standard cannot > be met. The validity of the marriages will be determined in the courts in > due course.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/31 "2004-03-01T17:05:51Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > So, did you become a brittle, arrogent sonofabitch and get hated by all your cohorts on the Great White Way? Well, now that you mention it . . . ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/32 "2004-03-01T23:35:28Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Spitzer is [staying out of it…for now](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/02/022804moreNY.htm). Thank god. I’m grateful for his restraint in this situation. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/33 "2004-03-02T02:22:52Z")
Restraint or mere realism. The California courts keep slapping down injunction requests on the “no immediate, irreparable harm” grounds, so Spitzer’s probably playing the odds and biding his time to avoid an immediate smack down. Either way, go New Paltz! Go Nyack! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/34 "2004-03-02T02:30:44Z")
[Ithica](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/03/030104ithMarr.htm) gets into the act. > [@](#): > > Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson announced Monday that the city in upstate New York would begin accepting applications for marriage licenses from same sex couples, but would then pass the applications on to the state for approval. > > The move opens the door for gay and lesbian couples to then sue the state if the licenses are not approved. Peterson said the city would join in any court battle on behalf of same-sex couples. > > “Same-sex couples deserve the equal protection of the law, the same as any other couple. They deserve to be able to bring their families out of the status of second-class citizenship and into the full array of rights and responsibilities that are available to married couples,” she said. > \ > The mayor also said that the city will immediately begin to recognize all same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/35 "2004-03-02T22:37:35Z")
[Criminal charges filed against Marryin’ Mayor](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/03/030204nyAG.htm) > [@](#): > > Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams … charged [Mayor] West Tuesday with 19 separate counts of solemnizing a marriage without a license, a misdemeanor under the domestic relations law. > > Although West could face a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail, Williams said a jail term wasn’t being contemplated at this point. > > Williams said his charges do not judge whether gay marriage is legal in New York, only that the weddings were performed without a marriage license. > > West maintains his actions were legal, although more weddings, scheduled for this weekend are up in the air. But in the same article, NY AG Elliot Spitzer has ordered a review of the state constitution to determine if, as West and others have asserted, SSM are already legal. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/36 "2004-03-05T16:59:35Z")
Apparently, New York law is not clear on the issue of same-sex marriage. It has never been explicitly approved or prohibited. Most states (including California) have in recent years passed laws explicitly prohibiting same sex marriages; but New York has not. There is also no reference to “a man and a woman” in the existing NY marriage laws. However, opponents of same sex marriage have noted there are references in NY law to “a bride and a groom” and “a husband and a wife” and argue these equate with two genders. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/37 "2004-03-05T18:13:44Z")
Spitzer’s office issued an opinion earlier this week stating his belief that SSM is prohibited by the domestic code but that the code itself is vulnerable to constitutional challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410/38 "2004-03-06T03:28:25Z")
Bowing to the hysteria of the anti-family forces, a New York judge has issued a [restraining order](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040306/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage&cid=519&ncid=716) against Mayor West, barring him from performing any more weddings for 30 days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-paltz-new-york-to-perform-same-sex-marriages/231410.md?page=1)