[JURIST] A New York appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that would have allowed a same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] in New York City. Earlier this year, New York City Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan had ruled [PDF opinion; JURIST report] in favor of five gay couples complaining that the state's domestic relations law violated their equal protection and due process rights under the New York constitution [text]. Ling-Cohan said that the words "husband," "wife," "groom" and "bride," as they appear in the domestic relations law, should be defined to apply equally to men and women. The appeals court overturned this ruling Thursday in a 4-1 decision [text], saying that Ling-Cohan's decision "was an act that exceeded the court's constitutional mandate and usurped that of the Legislature." The court said it is not up to judges to redefine terms that are given clear meaning in a statute. AP has more.