CITY TO APPEAL GAY MARRIAGE:

New York City will appeal a judge’s ruling against the state ban on same-sex marriages, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The mayor said that while he believes such marriages should be permitted, he wants the issue to be settled in the state’s highest court or in the legislature because “the public deserves the finality.”

State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled last month that the state law against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. “Under both the federal and New York State constitutions, it is beyond question that the right to liberty, and the concomitant right to privacy, extend to protect marriage,” Ling-Cohan wrote. She stayed her decision for 30 days, which the mayor said indicated that she felt it “should go to a higher court.” If upheld on appeal, the ruling in New York would clear the way for gay couples to wed.