New Jersey gay-marriage issue headed for court

"We're not even taking a day's rest," said Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay-rights advocacy group Garden State Equality, which has spearheaded the push for same-sex marriage in New Jersey. "Our members have gotten off the mat and are out there continuing the fight seamlessly for marriage equality."

The setback for gay-marriage advocates in New Jersey followed last month's in Albany, where the New York Senate defeated a measure to allow gay couples to wed. Nationally, activists will soon turn their attention to California, where a federal court will hear a challenge to the state's gay-marriage ban.

That case, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, was brought not by the nation's most prominent gay rights advocacy groups, but by a group of activists from Hollywood. It is being watched closely because it could determine whether gay couples nationwide have a right to marry.

In New Jersey, Goldstein said Garden State Equality would partner with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national gay-rights advocacy organization, to pursue its options.