They're victims of the legal machinations of a group calling itself the "Liberty Council". It turns out that the group that succeeded in getting a restraining order preventing the NEw Paltz mayor from performing any more same-sex marriages, was also involved with efforts to stop hand counting of ballots in Florida in 2000.
The latest news out of New Paltz, NY is that a judge has issued a
restraining order blocking the mayor of the town from performing any more same-sex marriages.
ALBANY, N.Y. - A state judge on Friday barred the mayor of a college town from performing more same-sex marriages for a month, saying Jason West was ignoring his oath of office.
State Supreme Court Justice Vincent Bradley issued a temporary restraining order against the 26-year-old New Paltz mayor at the request of the Florida-based Liberty Council, which acted on behalf of a local resident.
The Liberty Council is affiliated with Jerry Falwell Ministries. A little bit of research turns up the fact that the Liberty Council was also involved with attempts to stop hand-counting of ballots during Florida's recount fiasco that followed the 2000 presidential election. According to this story at WorldNetDaily, the Liberty Council
filed an appeal on behalf of three Florida residents to stop the hand counting, which ultimately was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which governs the state of Florida, has agreed to expedite an appeal filed Wednesday by three Florida residents who claim the hand counting of ballots in selected Florida counties -- all of which have canvassing boards controlled by Democrats -- is unconstitutional. The appeal asks the court to immediately halt the manual recounts of ballots.
On Wednesday, a judge, appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton within the past six months, denied a request for a temporary restraining order on the hand counting procedures. Liberty Counsel immediately appealed that decision to the 1lth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Jim Bopp, an Indiana attorney, is assisting Liberty Counsel in this appeal.)
The three Florida residents bringing this appeal are represented by Liberty Counsel, the religious freedom law firm that recently became affiliated with Jerry Falwell Ministries. Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, and my son, Jerry Falwell Jr., serve as co-counsel of the organization. While Liberty Counsel has been involved in some crucial religious freedom cases in recent months, this appeal could very well be the most significant one it ever presents in court. In fact, this case could make history as a determining factor in the final decision of who will sit in the Oval Office as our nation's president.
I'd say that last statement was accurate. Yes, it's interesting that the same outfit that was deeply involved in the sequence of events that ended up with George Bush in the White House, is also behind the legal actions to block gay marriages in New York. Also the fact that they're linked to Jerry Falwell.
The Liberty Council has been involved with a ton of lawsuits along this general line, including one where they
successfully sued a transit system because they had refused to accept advertising for a seminar on "preventing homsexuality". Also
here,
here,
and here. Hell, let's just let them tel you themselves the things they've been involved in, as they
boast on this page.
They were also behind this nuisance suit that tried to
overturn the civil union laws in Vermont.