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03/16/2004: "What's a law or two between friends"

Two New York state Unitarian ministers have been charged with marrying people without a valid licence. The couples in question were all gay. New York state doesn't recognize marriage licenses between people of the same sex. According to the Washington Post:

An attorney for the two ministers, Robert C. Gottlieb, said they will plead not guilty and demand a jury trial on the misdemeanor charges, which carry a possible penalty of a year in prison and $500 in fines on each count.

"We will let the good people of New Paltz decide whether these two ministers are really criminals," he said. "They did not violate the law. Their only intention was to uphold the law, the Constitution and the right to be free from discrimination. The only people who violated the law here are the clerks who refused to issue the licenses."

So much for the noble tradition of civil disobedience, where one violates an unjust law and then pays the penalty as a means of sparking change. These two clowns want to be hailed as heroes without being convicted of the crime, which they freely admit they committed. For them to contend that "they did not violate the law" is to demand the right to break the law with impunity whenever their consciences are sufficiently aroused. To which I can't help but say: Do the crime, do the time.