A challenge to New York's recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere has failed in a 4-3 ruling by the state's highest court, the Ithaca Journal reports: "The state Court of Appeals rejected a Christian legal group’s claim that the extension of benefits to gay couples was illegal based on current state law. But the court stopped short of declaring same-sex marriage in New York legal, saying that such a decision should be left to the state Legislature. The state Senate has yet to pass the measure. 'We end … expressing our hope that the Legislature will address this controversy,' the ...