Gay marriage was legalized in New Jersey on October 21, 2013, the day a Superior Court order in Garden State Equality v. Dow took effect and required the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. That made New Jersey the fourteenth state to allow same-sex marriage, more than a year and a half before the U.S. Supreme Court extended the right nationwide. The state legislature did not formally write marriage equality into statute until January 2022.
The Ruling That Set the Date
On September 27, 2013, Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson ruled that New Jersey’s exclusion of same-sex couples from civil marriage violated the equal protection guarantee of the state constitution.1New Jersey Courts. Supreme Court of New Jersey – Garden State Equality v. Paula Dow Her fifty-three-page opinion ordered the state to begin issuing licenses on October 21, 2013.
Governor Chris Christie’s administration asked for a stay to pause the order while the state appealed. On October 18, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied the request, finding that the state was unlikely to succeed on the merits and that further delay would continue to harm same-sex couples.1New Jersey Courts. Supreme Court of New Jersey – Garden State Equality v. Paula Dow The deadline held. At 12:01 a.m. on October 21, local registrars began processing applications, and many couples held ceremonies at the stroke of midnight. Later that day, Governor Christie withdrew the state’s appeal, ending the litigation.2Justia Law. New Jersey Code 37-1-1.1 – Findings, Declarations Regarding Same-Sex Marriage
Why 2013 Was the Turning Point
The ruling moved so quickly because the ground had shifted in Washington three months earlier. On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Windsor, striking down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That provision had defined marriage under federal law as exclusively between a man and a woman and had blocked same-sex spouses from receiving federal marital benefits.3Justia. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013) After Windsor, the federal government began recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states that allowed them.
This put New Jersey in an awkward spot. The state offered civil unions, not marriages, and the federal government recognized marriages but not civil unions. New Jersey’s civil union partners were therefore shut out of federal benefits that same-sex spouses in neighboring states could now claim: joint tax filing, Social Security survivor benefits, immigration sponsorship, veterans’ spousal benefits, and many more.4U.S. Government Accountability Office. Defense of Marriage Act – Update to Prior Report Judge Jacobson’s reasoning turned on that gap: the state constitution required equal treatment, and civil unions could no longer deliver it.
What New Jersey Had Before 2013
Legal recognition for same-sex couples in New Jersey built up in stages. The Domestic Partnership Act, signed on January 12, 2004, and effective July 10, 2004, let same-sex couples eighteen and older register as domestic partners and gain a limited set of rights related to health insurance, inheritance tax exemptions, and a state income tax personal exemption.5New Jersey Division of Taxation. Domestic Partnership Act
Two years later, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Lewis v. Harris that denying same-sex couples the rights and benefits available to married heterosexual couples violated the equal protection guarantee of the state constitution. The court gave the legislature a choice: amend the marriage statutes to include same-sex couples, or create a parallel structure under a different name.6Justia Law. Lewis v. Harris
Lawmakers chose the second option. The Civil Union Act took effect on February 19, 2007. It was supposed to carry every right and obligation of marriage under state law, and for New Jersey tax purposes civil union partners could file as married and qualify for property tax relief programs on the same terms as married couples.7New Jersey Division of Taxation. Civil Union Act On paper, civil unions looked like marriage in all but name. In practice, the federal government did not recognize them, and that gap is what Windsor made impossible to defend.
Federal Protections That Followed
New Jersey acted ahead of national law, but federal protections caught up. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment requires every state to license and recognize marriages between same-sex couples.8Justia. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
In December 2022, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act. The law requires the federal government and every state to recognize any marriage between two people that was validly performed under state law, and it prohibits states from denying full faith and credit to out-of-state marriages based on the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the spouses.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1738C – Certain Acts, Records, and Proceedings and the Effect Thereof It also officially repealed the Defense of Marriage Act. For New Jersey couples who travel, relocate, or own property in other states, the Act adds a layer of protection beyond the Obergefell decision.
New Jersey Writes Marriage Equality Into Statute
For nearly nine years after the 2013 ruling, same-sex marriage in New Jersey rested entirely on a court order. The marriage statutes themselves still used language assuming marriage was between a man and a woman.
On January 10, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed P.L. 2021, c. 343, which amended N.J.S.A. 37:1-1 to use gender-neutral language and formally codified the right of same-sex couples to marry. The law declared that New Jersey’s marriage statutes must be read with gender-neutral intent, replacing references like “husband and wife” with “spouse.”10New Jersey Legislature. New Jersey P.L. 2021 c. 343 The legislation stated that it was intended to align the statutes with both the 2013 Garden State Equality decision and the 2015 Obergefell ruling.2Justia Law. New Jersey Code 37-1-1.1 – Findings, Declarations Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Any future attempt to reverse marriage equality in New Jersey would now have to go through the legislature, not just a different panel of judges.
If You Are Still in a Civil Union or Domestic Partnership
Marriage equality did not automatically convert existing civil unions or domestic partnerships into marriages. Couples who entered a civil union before October 2013 and want to be legally married must apply for a standard marriage license and have a ceremony performed. There is no need to dissolve the civil union first, and the civil union remains on file with the Office of Vital Statistics even after the marriage is recorded.11New Jersey Department of Health. Domestic Partnership in New Jersey Frequently Asked Questions
A civil union still carries all state-level rights, but couples who never converted to marriage can run into complications with federal agencies, out-of-state institutions, or employers that do not recognize the status. Domestic partnerships work differently: a person cannot be in both a domestic partnership and a marriage recognized by New Jersey law at the same time, so couples who marry should file a termination request with the Superior Court to close out the earlier status.