Mayor On Trial

Wow...

The village mayor who challenged New York law by marrying gay couples last year will face trial, the state's highest court ruled yesterday.

Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., faces 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state's domestic relations law by marrying couples without licenses in late February 2004. He faces fines and up to a year in jail if convicted.

West 's actions came amid efforts in various states to wed gay couples after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed gay couples to marry in February 2004. Those efforts have largely been put on hold by the courts.

West has said he was upholding the gay couples' constitutional rights to equal protection -- and thus his oath of office -- by allowing them to wed in the Hudson Valley town in late February 2004.