Court says N.Y. has power to annual civil unions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gays and lesbians can't get married in New York, but they can get an annulment. A midlevel state appeals court has ruled that even though New York doesn't have a civil union law, its courts do have the power

to annul a same-sex union made in another state.

The case involved two Schenectady County women who entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2003, but separated three years later. One went to Vermont to get the union annulled, but was told she needed to live there a year before she could apply. The woman then asked a Schenectady court for an annulment, but the judge denied it.

The civil rights group Lambda Legal said the Appellate Division's decision Thursday to overturn that ruling will allow broken-up couples to move on with their lives.