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The New York Times
Minister Guilty for
Role in Gay Weddings
By AP from
nytimes.com on the Web, August 24, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A
Presbyterian minister was found guilty of violating church law for officiating
the weddings of two lesbian couples, the minister's defense team said Friday.
A regional judicial committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ruled 6-2 that
while the Rev. Jane Spahr of San Rafael ''acted with conscience and
conviction,'' her actions were still at odds with the church's constitution, her
defense team said in a statement.
The ruling, delivered late Thursday to lawyers for Spahr and the church,
reversed a lower court's decision in March 2006 that found Spahr acted within
her rights as an ordained minister when she married the couples in 2004 and
2005.
Spahr was the first minister of her faith to be tried for officiating the
weddings of gay couples. She has since retired.
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