New Jersey judge rules gay marriage must be legal

A New Jersey judge ruled Friday that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry.

Judge Mary Jacobson of the Superior Court of Mercer County said that since the federal government now recognizes gay marriages, not doing so in New Jersey would violate the state constitution.

Without an intervention, gay marriages could be allowed in the state as soon as Oct. 21. But Gov. Chris Christie is opposed to gay marriage, and his administration is expected to appeal the ruling.

In Friday's statement, the judge accepted the position of lawyers from gay rights groups that the state is now blocking citizens from receiving federal benefits in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act — which defined marriage as exisitng solely between a man and a woman — in Windsor v. The United States.

“Whereas before Windsor same-sex couples in New Jersey would have been denied federal benefits regardless of what their relationship was called, these couples are now denied benefits solely as a result of the label placed upon them by the State,” Jacobson wrote in her 53-page decision.

Even with the ruling, the future of same-sex marriage in New Jersey remains unclear. The state's top court ruled in 2006 that gay couples must have the same legal rights as married couples, and same-sex couples in New Jersey can now enter into civil unions. But marriage is another story. Christie has repeatedly stated his opposition to same-sex marriage, and vetoed a bill last year that would have allowed it.

Al Jazeera and wire services