NYC lawyers look for quick decision re gay marriage

Lawyers for New York City said Monday that they would ask the state's court of appeals to review a ruling on same-sex marriage as quickly as possible. In Tuesday editions, The New York Times reported that the announcement comes as the city makes plans to file an appeal of a state supreme court judge's decision last week that New York state law violates the constitutional rights of gay couples. State supreme court justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled Friday that the state's ban on gay marriages is unconstitutional and that the city clerk may not deny a license solely because a couple are of the same sex. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that the city would appeal the ruling. He said that although he personally supports gay marriage, it would be up to the state legislature to change the law. "I think it is in everybody's interest to have the courts finally decide what our current laws say," Bloomberg said at an appearance in Williamsburg. "And then if we want to change those laws, let the Albany legislature do that or not do that." Chief city attorney Michael Cardozo released a statement that the city would go straight to the court of appeals, bypassing an intermediate court, "so that a decision on this important issue can be reached as quickly as possible." Judge Judith S. Kaye, the state's chief appellate judge, said she expected the gay marriage issue to reach the court eventually, but she did not comment on Friday's ruling. "I expect someday the issue will come to us, in this case or another case," said Kaye. (AP)