Ah, New Paltz

Via Drudge comes news that the mayor of New Paltz, NY has been busted:

Four days after presiding over a slew of same sex marriages in his quaint Hudson Valley village, the mayor of New Paltz today was charged with 19 violations of New York's domestic relations law, injecting the debate over gay marriages in the state with increasing drama and urgency.

Jason West, 26-year-old Green Party mayor, was ordered to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges that he broke state law by solomizing about two dozen weddings without a marriage license, according to New Paltz police and West's lawyer.

Chief Raymond Zappone said he and a lieutenant from the town police served a 19-count summons to West Tuesday afternoon and that the mayor faces up a $500 fine and a year in jail for his actions which have attracted international attention and brought the fight over gay marriages squarely into New York.

I visited New Paltz as part of my Blogging Across America tour.

Also, lest you think "solomizing" is a word, see the neat graphic. Yes, I think it was intentional.

UPDATE: It's been corrected to read "solemnizing." The Lonewacko Blog gets results.