New Jersey is unconstitutionally denying federal benefits to gay couples and must allow them to marry, a judge ruled Friday.
Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson sided almost entirely with a group of same-sex couples and gay rights groups who sued the state in July days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of a law that blocked the federal government from granting benefits to gay couples.
Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican in the midst of a re-election campaign and a possible presidential contender, said through a spokesman he plans to appeal the decision, which he believes should be determined by a popular vote rather than a court.
The judge made the ruling effective Oct. 21, giving Christie time to appeal and likely ask a court to delay implementation of her order.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the governor “has always maintained that he would abide by the will of the voters on the issue of marriage equality and called for it to be on the ballot this Election Day.”
“Since the legislature refused to allow the people to decide expeditiously,” he said in a statement, “we will let the Supreme Court make this constitutional determination.”
Christie refused to take questions about the ruling after attending a college groundbreaking ceremony near Trenton.
New Jersey allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions that give them some of the same legal protections as married couples, but the judge said the two labels — marriage for opposite-sex couples and civil unions for same-sex couples — exclude gay couples “from certain federal benefits that legally married same-sex couples are able to enjoy.”
On Friday, Democratic lawmakers called on Christie not to appeal the ruling.
