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Charges Dropped Against Mayor Who Performed Gay Weddings |
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Charges Dropped Against Mayor Who Performed Gay Weddings
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: July 13, 2005
The Ulster County district attorney dropped charges against the mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., yesterday for marrying same-sex couples, saying that a trial would be needless and divisive.
Mayor Jason West had been charged with 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state's domestic relations law when he performed public marriage ceremonies for two dozen gay and lesbian couples in February 2004.
In a letter to the town judge withdrawing the charges, the district attorney, Donald A. Williams, said a trial would probably "be exploited by those with a greater interest in publicity than the public good."
"While a trial in this case would be filled with rhetoric and hyperbole, it would be lacking in a viable public purpose," Mr. Williams wrote.
Mayor West had been expected to stand trial in the fall, and if convicted, he could have faced fines and up to a year in prison.
The mayor's lawyer, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, said the district attorney's decision was a "total and complete vindication." He also accused the district attorney of being more concerned with the widespread public attention the case received than with the concerns of New Paltz residents.
"We have always said that a criminal prosecution serves absolutely no purpose," Mr. Rosenkranz said. "He went searching for the limelight, but when it got too hot, he flew away like a moth with singed wings."
Mayor West said the decision not to prosecute the case showed that the
district attorney had been "grandstanding for the last 18 months."
"There doesn't seem to be any reason why he would have not made the same
decision a year and a half ago," Mr. West said, "except for now he didn't
think he would win."
Mr. Williams wrote that because other rulings in civil cases have barred same-sex civil unions, and because the state attorney general has issued an opinion saying New York does not permit such marriages, Mr. West is already prohibited from marrying other gay couples.
Mr. Williams has repeatedly said that the case was not over constitutional rights for gay men and lesbians, as Mr. West claimed, but over a public official's duty to uphold existing law. But Mr. West said he was fighting for equal rights, and was therefore upholding his oath of office.
The charges were dismissed by a town justice in June 2004, but were
reinstated by a county judge in February. The mayor appealed that decision,
but the State Court of Appeals declined to hear the case.
In the spring of 2004, Mayor West became the second public official in the country, after Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, to preside over same-sex weddings. The move thrust New Paltz, a village of 6,000, into the spotlight of the debate over gay unions. Justice E. Michael Kavanagh of State Supreme Court in Kingston issued an order banning Mr. West from performing same-sex unions as long as they were not licensed in the state.
"Dropping the charges does not change any of that," Mr. Rosenkranz said, "but nothing was going to change that."
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Greens Call for Support for Medical Marijuana |
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Greens Urge Cities and States to Defend Access to Medical Marijuana.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
GREENS: STATES AND CITIES SHOULD MAINTAIN ACCESS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA, DESPITE SUPREME COURT RULING
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders urged state and municipal governments to maintain access to medical marijuana, in accord with democratically enacted local laws, despite the Supreme Court's ruling on June 6 in favor of federal prosecution.
Greens defended the right of state and local governments to act in the best interests of their constituents and for the right to life and health of people suffering AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other ailments for which marijuana has provided quick and effective relief.
"The Supreme Court, in upholding federal power to override state laws allowing medical marijuana, endorsed the growing attacks on civil liberties, federal usurpation of state and local law enforcement power, and concentration of power in the executive branch, especially in the Justice Department," said Nan Garrett, Georgia Green and Spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus. "The War on Drugs has all along been an effort to target and criminalize African Americans, young people, and other populations that have been disproportionally prosecuted and incarcerated. The Drug War's emphasis on marijuana, which does vastly less damage to health than alcohol and has a near-zero fatality rate, proves that marijuana prosecution has nothing to do with law and order or public health."
The Green Party supports decriminalization of drugs, especially marijuana, calling drug abuse a medical problem requiring treatment instead of a crime, and urges Congress to change national drug laws.
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3/10/05 Greensweek USGP NEWS |
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GREENSWEEK
A national Green bulletin
Vol. 3, No. 2
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
http://www.gp.org/greensweek/index.html
Join the Greensweek mailing list at
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/greensweek
Green Party of the United States: http://www.gp.org
Contribute to the Green Party: http://www.gp.org/donate
Contents:
- Green news
- Upcoming events
- Green Wave: 'Stop the Social Security Heist!'(Part 2: sample letters)
- Green Action: call or write a letter to Congress
- Good reads
SUPPORT GREENSWEEK! In March, the Green Party's national Media Committee began to publish Greensweek again, but it takes a lot of time and work to compile, edit, and distribute. We also want to expand Greensweek so it eventually becomes an in-demand national source for Green, progressive, and eco-news. We need your help to do this! Please send a donation to the Green Party of the United States -- and include a note mentioning that you saw the Greensweek appeal.
Donate here
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/shop/Greens/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=\
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Wangari Maathai: Text of Nobel Prize Acceptance |
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Wangari Maathai: As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa and indeed the whole world. I am especially mindful of women and girl-child. I hope to encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership. I know the honor also gives a deep sense of pride to our men, both old and young.
As a mother, I appreciate the inspiration this brings to the youth I urge them to use it to pursue their dreams. Although this prize comes to me, it acknowledges the work of countless individuals and groups across the world. They work quietly and often without recognition to protect the environment, promote democracy, defend human rights and ensure equality between women and men.
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Green Speaks Truth to Power in NYC |
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Nobel-Winning Wangari Maathai on Democracy
By Kareem Fahim
Village Voice
March 7, 2005
Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmental activist, government minister, and winner of last year's Nobel Peace prize, said last night she knew of no blueprint to steer developing countries away from authoritarianism, and toward multi-party democracy.
“I think what is important to realize is no matter where you are starting your campaign, the objective is to empower your people so they can stand up for your rights, and so they get to the point where they feel they can decide who can govern,” she said.
In an interview a few minutes before she delivered a speech at Cooper Union, Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Belt Movement in 1977, said that American organizations and individuals had been able to “intervene” in her struggle against the government of former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi. On several occasions, they’d even managed to free her or other opposition figures from jail.
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Impeachment Now More Than Ever |
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IMPEACHMENT MORE URGENT THAN EVER
Ramsey Clark
Dear VoteToImpeach / ImpeachBush.org Members,
We are urging all of those who are part of the impeachment movement to
participate and bring the message of impeachment with signs and banners to the hundreds of local demonstrations that will be taking place on March 19/20, the second anniversary of the beginning of the criminal war against Iraq.
Between March 19 and April 3, Congressional representatives are scheduled to be back in their home district. It has never been more important for all people of conscience to hold demonstrations and rallies, and to lobby those representatives in their home districts during the March 19 - April 3 period.
[read the rest of this entry] | |
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Greens Paved the Way for Historic Electoral Vote Challenge.
January 6, 2005
Today's historic Electoral College vote challenge would not have happened without the leadership of Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, who initiated the recount of Ohio's presidential vote and is demanding a second recount in federal court because the first recount was conducted in violation of state and federal law.
"Clearly, by demanding a recount and an investigation into the widespread irregularities with the presidential vote in Ohio, the Green Party paved the way for today's challenge to Ohio's Electoral College votes," said Cobb. Cobb called for an investigation of the vote in Ohio on November 5 and announced several days later that he would ask for a recount. Cobb testified before two Congressional forums chaired by Representative John Conyers held in Washington and Columbus, Ohio, and announced at the second forum the allegations of voting machine tampering which are now the subject of investigations by the GAO and the FBI.
"Today is truly historic and marks the beginning of a new democracy movement in America. We cannot honestly call our country a democracy until we have publicly financed campaigns, instant runoff voting, a Constitutional right to vote and until each and every voter can verify their vote with a paper receipt," said Cobb.
David Cobb spoke before hundreds of people in Washington, DC, today, who were gathered at two rallies. The first rally featured Cobb and Reverend Jesse Jackson and took place in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, at 10 a.m. Reverend Jackson acknowledged the leadership role that the Green Party has played in seeking justice in Ohio. Cobb then joined with hundreds of protestors marching from the White House to the Capitol along Pennsylvania Avenue. Protestors took over two lanes of traffic and chanted pro-democracy messages en route.
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Kucinich Supports Green Party Demand for Ohio Recount |
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Kucinich Supports Green Party Demand for Ohio Recount
Support for Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb’s demand for a recount of the Ohio presidential vote continues to grow. Ohio Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has joined a growing list of individuals and organizations calling for a recount.
“I strongly support the request for a recount in Ohio,” Kucinich said in a statement sent to the Cobb-LaMarche campaign.
Kucinich said that a “recount is an appropriate response to officials who tried to suppress the vote” and that the “highly partisan activities of state election officials cast doubt on the integrity of the elections process.”
Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik, who intend to file jointly for the recount, have demanded that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign, recuse himself from the recount process.
“We need an election system and election officials we can trust. The problems in Florida in 2000 and the problems in Ohio in 2004 will repeat themselves in 2008 unless we do something about it. Our elections should be administered by an independent non-partisan commission, and not by the state chairs of the Republican presidential campaign,” said David Cobb. The Secretary of State in Florida in 2000, Katherine Harris, was also the state chair of the Bush campaign and the person responsible for counting the presidential ballots.
Kucinich’s support of Cobb’s recount demand comes on the heels of another prominent endorsement of this effort. On Monday, Common Cause, the National Voting Rights Institute, Demos, the Fannie Lou Hamer Project and People for the American Way Foundation issued a joint statement in support of the Cobb and Badnarik demand for an Ohio recount.
Kucinich expressed his appreciation of the growing movement demanding accountability for the 2004 election.
“Thank you to the Greens and all others whose support for a recount will rescue a shred of honesty in the conduct of the 2004 Ohio election,” said Kucinich.
The Cobb-LaMarche campaign is now in the process of recruiting volunteers and raising funds for monitoring the actual recount process which is expected to take place in early December. Volunteers and donors should visit the campaign website, http://www.votecobb.org, for more information.
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Democrats Attack Green Officials Through Redistricting in Minn. |
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Minneapolis--Urgent Plea from Minneapolis MN Green Party City Councilman Dean Zimmermann
Dear friends and supporters,
This letter is a plea for Greens and Green supporters around the country to help us pay for our lawsuit that, when successful, will rectify a grievous wrong that has been inflicted upon the Minneapolis Greens.
These manipulations were a willful and illegal attempt to reverse the Green Party's recent progress and allow the traditional political establishment to regain total control of the political process. Our lawsuit is trying to overturn a gerrymandered redistricting map in Minneapolis that now has us facing this following absurd situation:
If the redistricting is not overturned the only two African American members of the Minneapolis City Council must run against each other. One of these is Green Party member Natalie Johnson Lee.
Green Party City Council Member Dean Zimmermann has been drawn out of his Ward by some 1000 feet. This means that either (a) Dean must run against a close Council ally in a ward that contains less than 10% of Dean's former constituents or (b) Dean must move into the redrawn ward he now represents and run against a different close Council ally.
For more info see our web site: www.freempls.org
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NY Greens Support New Paltz Same-Sex Marriages |
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GREEN PARTY SUPPORTS MAYOR WEST'S STANCE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
The Green Party of New York State applauds Green Party New Paltz Mayor Jason West's action in performing marriages for same-sex couples. "We are proud that as a Green elected official Mayor West has stood up for equal rights under our state constitution and recognized the right of individuals to marry. It is unfortunate that some public officials feel it is necessary to continue to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation," said Margaret Human, State Committee representative from Dutchess County.
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Democrats ask Greens to Delay Party Building by Matt Gonzalez |
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UNTIL WHEN?
Democrats ask the Greens to delay party building-but for how long?
By Matt Gonzalez
For the last three years we've heard it over and over: the Green Party spoiled the election for Al Gore and helped elect George W. Bush. But the question that rarely gets asked is what have the Democrats done about it? You'd think that since Bush won all of the electoral votes in Florida without winning a majority of votes cast, that the Democrats would have spent the last three years pushing for majority elections so that what happened in Florida couldn't be repeated. But they haven't.
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Ralph Nader's reply to "The Nation" |
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February 18, 2004
"Don't Run, Don't Run, Don't Run, Don't Run..."
Whither The Nation?
By RALPH NADER
The following letter is a response to "An Open Letter
to Ralph Nader," which appeared in the February 16
issue of The Nation.
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Peter Camejo's Avacado Declaration |
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Read the Avacado Declaration by Peter Miguel Camejo, life-long fighter for social justice who was the Green Party candidate for Governor in California in the 2002 general elections and in the 2003 recall election. Camejo addresses the future of the Green Party in the United States, the history of the two party system and the need for the Greens to be heard in the 2004 elections.
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GPUS Response to Ralph Nader |
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Read the Green Party of the United States Steering Committee's response to Ralph Nader's letter removing his name from the Presidential Nominating process.
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Ralph Nader's Letter to GPUS Declining Nomination |
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Read Ralph Nader's letter to the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States removing his name from the party's presidential nominating process.
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