A national public interest law firm has filed two separate lawsuits against the mayor of a small New York town in an effort to stop him from conducting illegal homosexual marriages.
Last month, Mayor Jason West of New Paltz, New York, announced he would solemnize marriages of same-sex couples, even though to do so is a violation of state law. He has remained defiant, despite the fact that he has been charged with 19 criminal counts of violating New York's domestic-relations law, New York Newsday reported.
WorldNetDaily reports that only last week, the 26-year-old mayor conducted 25 same-sex weddings, put another 500 names on a waiting list, and planned to hold more ceremonies the following weekend. West now faces the possibility of up to $500 in fines and a year in jail for breaking state law by solemnizing the weddings without a valid marriage license. But he said he would plead innocent at his court hearing and will continue marrying homosexual couples.
West, a part-time public official and member of the Green Party, has told the media that the day he began solemnizing same-sex unions was the best day of his mayoral career. However, Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver says West may soon regret taking such action.
"Instead of being the most memorable day of his mayoral career, these in fact may be the last days of his political career," Staver says, "because we intend to stop this mayor. We intend to remove him from office."
Staver hopes to see two things come out of the legal action. "The first lawsuit is asking the court to immediately put a stop to this illegal solemnization of same-sex unions," he says, "and secondly, we've filed another action in a separate court to literally remove this mayor from office."
Liberty Counsel's president hopes the lawsuits will help put the word out to Mayor West and to other liberal officials around the U.S. who abuse their offices to push the homosexual agenda, that such actions will not be tolerated. "We intend to send a loud message to anyone else around the country that they must obey the law," Staver says.
CCF Spokesman: California Should Follow NY Law Enforcement's Example
Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for California Families is applauding the law enforcement authorities in New York for taking action against West. He says bringing charges against New Paltz's mayor sets an example that he would like to see the Attorney General of the State of California follow.
"Law enforcement officials in the State of New York apparently care more about their duty to enforce the law than California AG Bill Lockyer does," Thomasson says. "Why is a corrupt mayor in the State of New York charged, but the corrupt mayor in San Francisco gets no consequences for violating the law more than three-thousand times?"
