New Paltz Mayor Jason West says he will postpone a second round of same-sex weddings planned for Saturday so he can talk to state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer next week.
West says he decided on the one-week postponement to help foster an atmosphere of trust between Spitzer and himself. He says a lawsuit seeking to bar him from performing the same-sex weddings has nothing to do with the postponement.
"Yes, I'm sure people will be as disappointed, but I want to make sure we can find as many potential allies as possible," West told the Associated Press.
Three of about 80 pro-West and gay marriage supporters were arrested at a rally Thursday in the Hudson Valley village after refusing police orders to remove bandannas over their faces. The three, identified as SUNY New Paltz students, were charged with a violation and released 40 minutes later.
West performed his first spate of 25 same-sex marriages last Friday, drawing his little village 65 miles south of Albany into the fast-spreading national debate over gay marriage.
Spitzer said Wednesday that gay marriage is illegal in New York but could be open to a constitutional challenge.
