New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled on Friday that gay couples must be allowed to marry as a result of the Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Jacobson claimed that refusing to recognize same-sex marriages would be depriving couples of their rights.
New Jersey had previously allowed civil unions.
“The ineligibility of same-sex couples for federal benefits is currently harming same-sex couples in New Jersey in a wide range of contexts,” she wrote.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in 2012.