by Shelby Powers

Monday, October 21 at midnight, same-sex couples flocked to city halls across New Jersey after the State Supreme Court ruled that such unions are legal. The Garden State is the fourteenth state to legalize gay marriage, following in the footsteps of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota, California, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

The challenge to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey began in 2006 when the State Supreme Court legalized same-sex civil unions, which lack the same benefits as traditional marriage.  The state legislature passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage in 2012, which Governor Chris Christie vetoed on the grounds that the issue should be decided by popular vote. In September, following the United States’ Supreme Court June decision ensuring equal benefits for same-sex couples as heterosexual married couples, New Jersey Judge May Jacobson ruled that her state must comply.

Republican Governor Chris Christie’s administration appealed for a delay in the ruling, but the State Supreme Court denied the appeal, and shortly after the governor withdrew it. This could hurt Governor Christie’s popularity for his possible 2016 presidential campaign, especially with the more conservative side of the Republican Party. Christie’s situation mirrors the plights of former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giulani; they are all conservatives whose state supreme courts legalized same sex marriage despite their personal oppositions.

On the other hand, Christie’s decision to withdraw his appeal could work out well for him in the long run, as national opinions on gay marriage shift in an increasingly positive trend. Christie’s resignation in this battle in contrast to Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s recent rigid resistance to the Affordable Healthcare Act shows that the New Jersey governor has respect for the laws decided by the Supreme Court, even when they aren’t congruent with his personal beliefs.