A solemn crowd of more than 150 Unitarian congregants and gay rights advocates gathered on the steps of the New Paltz courthouse on Monday afternoon to support two ministers facing charges for officiating at same-sex marriages.
Singing the Unitarian hymn "Spirit of Life'' from photocopied sheets that flapped in a cold breeze, the crowd cheered in support of the ministers, Kay A. Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey, as they walked into their hearing in the low brick building.
Placards of support included one marked "Let Our Reverend Go," a rainbow-captioned "Freedom to Love" and a sandwich board worn by a 79-year old congregant from Ms. Greenleaf's church marked "Straight, but not narrow." No one demonstrated against the ministers.
"Growing up in Ellenville there was a general feeling that gays and lesbians were all sick," said Jim H. Mearns, as he tried to balance the sandwich board on his back. "I felt that way until about five years ago when I joined the congregation in Poughkeepsie and got less narrow-minded."
Ms. Greenleaf, minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie, and Ms. Sangrey, minister at the Fourth Unitarian Society of Westchester in Mohegan Lake, are charged with multiple counts of solemnizing marriages without a license.
The prosecutor, District Attorney Donald A. Williams of Ulster County, had earlier filed identical charges against Jason West, 26, the mayor of the village of New Paltz.
Mr. Williams has repeatedly said that he intends to focus prosecution on the narrow issue of officials solemnizing marriages without a license. Clergy members and mayors in New York State may solemnize marriages, but they must confirm that the couple has obtained a license. The failure to check for a license is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison or a $500 fine, the district attorney said.
The state's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, has issued an opinion that advises state officials against issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But even before that, the town clerk who oversees licensing for both the village and town of New Paltz had refused to issue such licenses. Courts have found unlicensed but solemnized marriages valid for mixed-sex couples, but the unlicensed same-sex marriages will probably face further legal challenges.
The lawyer defending the two ministers, Robert C. Gottlieb, said he would ask that all charges be dismissed on several grounds, including that any block against same-sex marriage denies equal protection guaranteed by the State Constitution. In addition, he said he would argue that prosecution in relation to a marriage violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
"For all the horrors happening in the world today, it is more than bizarre they now bring people to court for solemnizing love," Mr. Gottlieb said. "It is a farce and an abuse of the criminal justice system."
Emerging to speak with their supporters and the press after pleading not guilty before Judge Judy Reichler, the two ministers said they remained unrepentant but would probably not solemnize further same-sex marriages, since so many other members of the clergy are now eager to do so.
"To risk spending a year in jail and paying a $500 fine is nothing compared to the length of time those of us who are gay have been waiting to get our civil rights," Ms. Greenleaf said.
Ms. Greenleaf was accompanied in court by Pat A. Sullivan, her companion of 17 years. They were married on March 6 in New Paltz by Ms. Sangrey.
Same-sex marriages are scheduled to continue in New Paltz on Saturday, with 20 ceremonies planned by the New Paltz Equality Initiative, according to Charles I. Clement, a spokesman for the group.
In contrast with crowds dominated by students that gathered ahead of the arraignment of the village mayor, the group on Monday was a mixture of Unitarian congregants and advocates of same-sex marriage from across the state.
In addition to Mayor West, who said he would advise the clergywomen to plead not guilty, the crowd included Mayor John H. Shields of Nyack, who has sued the town clerk of Orangetown for the right to obtain a same-sex marriage license for himself and his partner.
Also among the crowd were people married in recent weeks in New Paltz, including Carrie A. Cerjen, who wed Erica L. Hansen, her partner of two years, on Saturday.
"These clergy supported us in marriage, so I want to support them against the government," Ms. Cerjen said.