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Same-sex marriage is finally officially legal in New Jersey

Two men dancing at a wedding
Photo: Shutterstock.

Same-sex couples can now officially wed in New Jersey with the blessing of the state government.

The right to get married was codified into law on Monday when Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed legislation that wrote the right into state law.

Related: Ted Cruz’s teen daughter comes out as bisexual

Legislators had previously passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, but it was vetoed by former Gov. Chris Christie (R) who said he thought the decision should be left to voters. The next year the state’s supreme court made the issue moot when it declined to hear a lower court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality.

Thanks to a judicial ruling, New Jersey became the 14th state where same-sex couples had equal rights to marriage in 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages nationwide in 2015.

“Despite the progress we have made as a country, there is still much work to be done to protect the LGBTQ+ community from intolerance and injustice,” Murphy said in a statement announcing he had signed the legislation.

“New Jersey is stronger and fairer when every member of our LGBTQ+ family is valued and given equal protection under the law. I am honored to sign legislation that represents our New Jersey values and codifies marriage equality into state law.”

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