A New York State appellate court ruled today that the state must recognize lesbian and gay marriages entered into in other states. Today’s decision involves Monroe County officials who sued the state Department of Civil Service for providing health insurance to the same-sex spouse of a Monroe Community College employee. According to the NYCLU, which filed an amicus brief in the case, the court struck down the appeal, affirming that the state was indeed following the law by granting all validly married couples eligibility for health insurance benefits, regardless of what state issued the marriage certificate. Last May, Governor Paterson ordered all state agencies to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages; a lawsuit filed by a Christian legal group to fight the directive was subsequently thrown out of court.