By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the state must begin granting same-sex marriage licenses on Monday, a rebuff to Gov. Chris Christie.
Christie, a Republican, favors civil unions, which New Jersey has offered since 2007, but opposes gay marriage. The state had tried to delay the granting of gay marriage licenses pending an appeal of an earlier ruling.
Christie had asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to freeze a state judge's ruling legalizing gay marriage until it heard the case in January and made a final decision, but the court, in a unanimous ruling, found that the state had "not shown a reasonable probability it will succeed on the merits."
New Jersey will become the 14th state to recognize same-sex marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia.
"The long wait in New Jersey is finally over — the door is open for love, commitment and equality under the law! This is a huge victory for New Jersey's same-sex couples and their families," said Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director of Lambda Legal, which filed a brief on behalf of six same-sex couples who sought the right to marry, in a statement.
Judge Mary Jacobson in Mercer County Superior Court in Trenton ruled three weeks ago in favor of gay couples who had challenged the New Jersey's civil union law, saying it restricted federal benefits that are given to heterosexual married couples.
Reuters contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:41 PM EDT
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