The New Paltz mayor who married gay couples before it was legal – Times Union

It all began when West stumbled upon a legal loophole in New York State’s Domestic Relations Law, which governs marriages. The state had defined marriage as a contract between two people, not a man and a woman.  

“Mayors can perform weddings, so I was curious when I got into office and asked our village attorney if there is anything stopping me from marrying gay couples,” said West. “He came back and said, ‘It’s hazy – there is nothing in the law that forbids it, but nothing in the law that allows it either.’”  

West decided to go forward, and word travelled around town that same-sex couples who were looking to get married would have an officiant in their local mayor. 

West said at the time he thought two things would come out of the ceremony, aside from helping sweethearts seal the deal: first, that it would make local press; and, second, that it would lead to “good case law that might eventually lead to marriage equality.”  

“It was really the legal angle we were looking for,” said West. “The press angle was a nice bonus to do a little political theater that has some real-life meaning to it.” 

The news didn’t just get reported locally. In the days leading up to the big event, West did 11 radio interviews, seven satellite trucks sat outside Village Hall after the press release went out, and reporters travelled from Manhattan, an hour and a half from New Paltz. On February 27, 2004, hundreds sat in Peace Park on Plattekill Avenue to watch in support, while some protested, as same-sex couples went up one by one to get married by West.  

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a legal fallout. Soon after, the Ulster County District Attorney Donald A. Williams charged West with 19 misdemeanors for solemnizing marriage without a license (police at the time could not provide eye witness accounts for all 25 ceremonies). Although the Domestic Relations Law stated that one does not need a license to be legally married so long as the ceremony is properly solemnized, Williams alleged that the couples did indeed need to also receive marriage licenses, which would be impossible to do because the licenses include language that specifies that the union must be between a bride and groom.

After a year and a half of court cases the district attorney dropped all charges.

‘Marriage is the cornerstone of American life’

Jay Blotcher and Brook Garrett, one of the couples who was married by West 17 years ago, is still married today. 

Blotcher, who participated in gay rights activism since 1989 in Manhattan and thought he would hang up his activism boots when relocating upstate to High Falls in 2001, defined the 2004 ceremony as a political act to prove same-sex couples should have marriage equality.  

“When we were offered to participate in this 2004 event, we said yes because we wanted to take a stand again, and we felt there was an injustice going on,” said Blotcher. “Marriage is the cornerstone of modern American life, and yet was being denied to LGBTQ+ people.” 

Their 2004 union marked a long road for the couple seeking legal backing for their relationship — in fact, they had traveled to multiple states across the country in search of the soundest legal documentation. They received a New York City certificate of domestic partnership in April 2000, and a Vermont certificate of civil union six months later that year.  

On the day of the 2004 ceremony, Blotcher recalled a sense of excitement and activism throughout the crowd as each person “realized they were taking a stand.” Despite a threat of West being arrested by the police before the first marriage, the event went smoothly to completion with no violence. 

“I drank in the joy, defiance and excitement of it,” said Blotcher. “As far as the eye could see in the park there were people. It was so exciting.” 

Not only was the February 2004 event a notable one for gay rights activism locally and beyond, it also led to “greater ramifications for this area,” said Blotcher, like the introduction of New Paltz’s first Pride march the following year in June. 

“Some people may have said they’ve never seen queer or LGBTQ people in the streets,” said Blotcher. “But the fact is LGBTQ people have been your friends and neighbors here in the Hudson Valley for decades, it’s just we’ve been hiding in plain sight. For the first time, people didn’t have to hide.” 

This landmark event arrived in the early stages of a larger public movement, which led to additional milestones like the 2007 opening of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, which Blotcher co-founded.  

Now, this June, New York celebrates its 10-year anniversary of marriage equality in the state.  

“I have been a progressive activist for about 40 years, and I always say if you’re into immediate gratification, don’t get into civil rights, because the struggle is a long one,” said Blotcher.