Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Morality Police: The mayor of a small town in the state of New York faces criminal charges for conducting weddings for same-sex couples. He could get a $500 fine and up to a year in jail.

Perhaps the state law doesn't currently allow for same-sex marriages. But that still seems to be a contentious issue to be decided by the courts. As far as I know, the mayor (who's only 26 years old) wasn't defying a specific court order to stop. He was interpreting the law in a certain way. If he's proven wrong, then the marriages would be nullified or the law could be updated. But charging the man with a crime is unnecessary and shows that this is more an emotional issue rather than a logical one.

And another thing: As a writer, I enjoy word play as much as the next guy. But this Newsday article goes over the top when it says the mayor was "solomizing" the same-sex couples by presiding over the weddings. UPDATE: Apparently Newsday corrected the article. It now says the mayor was "solemnizing", which is an actual legal term and no longer appears to be a bad word play.