TWO MINISTERS CHARGED IN GAY NUPTIALS: From the New York Times

The Ulster County district attorney filed criminal charges yesterday against two Unitarian ministers who performed same-sex marriage ceremonies in New Paltz, N.Y., after a court barred the mayor from doing so.

Many who have closely followed the national debate about same-sex marriage said yesterday that this was the first time clergy members have faced prosecution for conducting rites sanctioned by their church.

The district attorney, Donald A. Williams, said in a statement that the misdemeanor charges did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state. "It is not our intention to interfere with anyone's right to express their religious beliefs," Mr. Williams said, "including the right of members of the clergy to perform ceremonies where couples are united solely in the eyes of the church or any other faith."

But he said that the ceremonies on March 6 by the two ministers, the Rev. Kay A. Greenleaf and the Rev. Dawn Sangrey, also had a legal significance. He said that the ministers "have publicly proclaimed their intent to perform civil marriages under the authority vested in them by New York state law, rather than performing purely religious ceremonies."

The issue at hand, the prosecutor added, is the narrow question of whether the ministers had confirmed that the couples had marriage licenses. It is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 or one year in jail for a member of the clergy or a government official to solemnize an unlicensed marriage.

A much larger issue has been broached, said Robert C. Gottlieb, the lawyer for the ministers. "This district attorney used his discretion to prosecute and bring the issue to a whole new level," he said. "By pulling the trigger, he has now said he will criminalize any clergy who enter Ulster County and conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies."

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posted by Eve at 1:26 PM | link

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