New Paltz mayor charged with 19 counts

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 5:14pm

BREAKING NEWS!

[etoile]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 5:33pm

19 counts of what?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 5:34pm

performing gay marriages

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stgay0302,0,382817.story?coll=ny-top-span-headlines

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 5:59pm

He should have been thrown in jail. This guy is so self-serving. He has no respect for the town of New Paltz which is a little town that can't handle all of this commotion.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 6:01pm

c'mon, the kid's 26 and he's the mayor who ran from the green party. jail? ya really like making martyrs don't ya, gotham?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 7:07pm

The mayor isn't concerned about how the town is going to pay for the extra police and sanitation needed to handle the crowd.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 7:10pm

"He should have been thrown in jail. This guy is so self-serving. He has no respect for the town of New Paltz which is a little town that can't handle all of this commotion"

Aw, c'mon. New Paltz already fields a town full of college kids and legions of rock climbers from the Gunks without batting an eyelash. A few gay weddings isn't gonna do 'em in.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 7:21pm

A few gay weddings isn't gonna do 'em in.

Currently New Paltz's waiting list has over 1,000 couples. I don't think 2,000+ people are "a few".

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 7:33pm

I feel a breeze from the 60s in the air.

As Frank Rich said in the Sunday piece, post Bush's mean-spirited Amendment fervor, this is now a bonafide movement with momentum all its own. The civil disobedience aspect gives a poignant nod to some civil right roots.

On a far more shallow note, in both SF and N. Palz, we have cute young, straight white men taking up the cause. Poster Boys for the new gay movement -- straight male martyrs. It makes the whole thing -- well, I used the word poignant already. In this June's gay rights parade, look for these fellas to ride floats, surrounded by drag queens. The new century has begun on the domestic front.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 7:34pm

Have you ever been in New Paltz during a climbing festival weekend? 1000 happy couples is nothing in comparison. It's a funky town with a lot of spirit. I have faith in them.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 8:54pm

Am I the only one who finds Justin West to be absolutely adorable?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 8:58pm

He's very cute!

Let the revolution begin!

If there is a march on Washington, I'm there!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 9:44pm

I grew up near New Paltz. I know the town very well. The difference is that when the tourist season starts they are prepared for it. The town isn't prepared to handle large crowds in February. I'm not saying this shouldn't happen. I'm just pointing out that the mayor should be thinking of the township first, not making a name for himself. Bigger cities like New York and San Francisco can handle something like this, New Paltz can't.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 3/2/04 at 10:27pm

Jail?!? I wonder how many dollars those thousand gay couples are going to be bringing to businesses of New Paltz. I'm sure the business owners of New Paltz are complaining all the way to the jail.
As for the mayor. Good for him. There's nothing that turns me on more than a little civil disobedience.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/4/04 at 9:46pm

If Jason West is sentenced to any jail time, I volunteer to be his cellmate! He gets better looking every time I see him on TV!