More Local Marriage News

Well, I am officially embarrassed to be en employee of the NYS Health Department. Thursday, the mayor of New Paltz, NY, Jason West, said that he would perform same-sex marriage ceremonies
, and this morning her kept that promise, marrying 21 gay and lesbian couples.

Here's why I'm embarrassed to be en employee of the NYS Health Department (NYSDOH). Shortly after Mayor West announced his intentions to perform the marriages, the New York State Health Department released a statement which said,

"New York's domestic relations law does not allow the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and that New York courts have recognized only marriage between men and women as valid.

A municipal clerk who issues a marriage license outside these guidelines, and any person who solemnizes such a marriage, would be violating state law and subject to the penalties in law."

But wait, there's more. Today NYSDOH asked the NY Attorney General's office for an injunction to stop Mayor West from any "further illegal conduct" and also asked the AG's office to to declare the same-sex marriages that he was performed to be "null and void."

I thought it was the Department of Health's responsibility to protect the health and well-being of all New York citizens. That's what it says in its mission statement. How does denying a substantial segment of the NYS citizenry equal protection under the law 'protect and promote public health' or display a 'dedication to the public good'?

I know that this isn't a particularly articulate rant at the moment, but I'm a bit rushed. I'll come back later and polish it up a bit. In a nut shell, I'm pissed as hell at my "boss" but I can't just walk upstairs and give her a piece of my mind if I still want to have a job when I am done.

more fun with quizes

Robert Heinlein wrote you - your stranger in a
strange land, you.


Which Author's Fiction are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I would just like to say that I am absolutely tickled by this result. Heinlein has always been one of my all-time favorite authors.

thanks to scribbling woman for the link.

Mayor of Schenectady Supports Gay Marriage

If law allows, mayor ready to let same-sex couples wed

Mayor Brian U. Stratton said Tuesday he is willing to marry homosexual
couples 'if the law allows,' jumping into a national debate on the same
day that President Bush endorsed a constitutional amendment to ban
same-sex nuptials.

'Until someone tells me otherwise, I think I've got
the legal authority to do it,' Stratton said in an interview with the
Times Union. 'I have no objection to marrying anyone who can legally get
married.'

Read the rest of it here.

Update

Later that same day...

Stratton recants on rites for gays

*sigh*

Campaign Blogs

Interesting...

John Kerry's Blog

John Edwards Campaign Blog

Rules for Being a Good Republican

1. You have to believe that being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you are a millionaire conservative radio jock, which makes it an "illness" and needs our prayers for your "recovery".



2. You have to believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own.



3. You have to believe that the US should get out of the UN, and that our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.



4. You have to believe that government should stay out of people's lives but it needs to punish anyone caught having private sex with the "wrong" gender.



5. You have to believe that pollution is ok, as long as it makes a profit.



6. You have to believe in prayer in schools, as long as you don't pray to Allah or Buddha.



7. You have to believe that "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.



8. You have to believe that a woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but that large multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind with no regulation whatsoevever.



9. You have to believe that you love Jesus and Jesus loves you, and that Jesus shares your hatred of AIDS victims, homosexuals, and Hillary Clinton.



10. You hate the ACLU for representing convicted felons, but they owed it to the country to bail out Oliver North.



11. You have to believe that the best way to encourage military morale is to praise the troops overseas while cutting their VA benefits.



12. You believe that group sex and drug use are degenerate sins that can only be purged by running for governor of California as a Republican.



13. You have to believe it is wise to keep condoms out of schools, because we all know if teenagers don't have condoms they won't have sex.



14. You have to believe that the best way to fight terrorism is to alienate our allies and then demand their cooperation and money.



15. You have to believe that government medicine is wrong and that HMO's and insurance companies only have your best interests at heart.



16. You have to believe that providing health care to all Iraqis is sound government policy but providing health care to all Americans is socialism personified.



17. You believe that tobacco's link to cancer and global warming are "junk science", but Creationism should be taught in schools.



18. You have to believe that waging war with no exit strategy was wrong in Vietnam but right in Iraq.



19. You have to believe that Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney was doing business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.



20. You believe that government should restrict itself to just the powers named in the Constitution, which includes banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.



21. You have to believe that the public has a right to know about the adulterous affairs of Democrats, while those of Republicans are a "private matter".



22. You have to believe that the public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades but that Bush was right to censor those 28 pages from the Congressional 9/11 report because you just can't handle the truth.



23. You support state rights, which means Ashcroft telling states what locally passed voter initiatives he will allow them to have.



24. You have to believe that what Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest but what Bush did decades later is "stale news" and "irrelevant".



25. You have to believe that trade with Cuba is wrong because it is communist, but trading with China and Vietnam is just dandy.



26. You have to believe that MSNBC and Fox News only report balanced truth that everyone should hear, while the New York Times and CNN just spit out biased news that liberals want to hear.

Swiped from a post at Indigo Vortex.

On a Lighter Note

You're a Cappicinno!


What Kind of Coffee are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks to Scribbling Woman for the link

*disgusted*

Bush calls for same-sex marriage-ban amendment

What's next? Concentration camps?