Updated Friday, Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. EDT: Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in the state of New Jersey once the clock strikes midnight on Monday, Oct. 21. According to USA Today, the New Jersey Supreme Court has denied the request from Gov. Chris Christie's administration to put the weddings on hold until after the appellate process, meaning that gay couples can marry as they please in the meantime.
Earlier:
Newly elected New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is planning to preside over at least 10 same-sex marriages, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, according to a report in BuzzFeed.
Booker reportedly wants to push forward with marriage equality before he comes to Washington, D.C., to begin his Senate duties. The weddings will be conducted on the first-floor rotunda of Newark City Hall.
In September a lower court ruled that same-sex marriage in the state would be legal on Oct. 21, and the state's Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an appeal of that ruling in January. There is a chance that the high court could put the marriages on hold until the January court date, but Booker and the couples are going ahead with their plans for one minute after the clock strikes midnight.
Judge Mary Jacobson's Sept. 27 decision could set a precedent for other states. In it, the judge declared that New Jersey must uphold the rights that same-sex couples were granted by the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling on equal access to the rights and benefits of marriage.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration has chosen to appeal, but the question for now is whether marriages will be put on hold until after the appellate process.
Read more at BuzzFeed.