In what is being seen as a victory for gays and lesbians in the state of New Jersey, the state Supreme Court has ruled this afternoon in the case of Lewis v. Harris, directing the legislature to amend the state's marriage law to include same sex couples or to create a structure similar to marriage that will grant all of the same rights. The ruling is similar to a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court; Vermont's legislature enacted civil unions in response to its state court's directive.

The New Jersey court ruled:

5. To bring the State into compliance with Article I, Paragraph 1 so that plaintiffs can exercise their full constitutional rights, the Legislature must either amend the marriage statutes or enact an appropriate statutory structure within 180 days of the date of this decision. (p. 65)

Lewis v. Harris was originally filed in 2002 by Lambda Legal on behalf of seven same-sex couples, some raising children, arguing that they are entitled to the same benefits, obligations, and security granted married heterosexual couples under the law. The parties involved range in age from 44 to 56, and have been in relationships ranging in duration from 13 to 34 years, with the exception of one plaintiff who passed away in the fall of 2005. On appeal, the case was struck down 2-1; the Supreme Court was required to make the final ruling due to the one dissenting opinion at the appellate level.

New Jersey has no law expressly prohibiting same-sex marriage, nor has it amended its constitution to recognize marriage as exclusive to heterosexual couples. In addition, New Jersey does not prohibit marrying a couple whose home state would not recognize the union, unlike Massachusetts. For these reasons, New Jersey has been considered by all sides of the ongoing debate more likely to rule in favor of marriage equality.

In the United States, same-sex relationships are largely unrecognized, causing difficulties in matters of estate, medical care, government benefits and, in many cases, employment benefits. Without a marriage license, civil union or legal paperwork, rights and responsibilities that would otherwise be automatic do not exist; the law may consider even the most committed individuals in a relationship, regardless of duration, to be complete strangers.