Another victory for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community scored another victory as a judge in New Jersey cleared the way for gay marriage in the state.

Judge Mary C. Jacobson of State Superior Court in Mercer County, dismissed the state's request to prevent the weddings until after a decision for an appeal to prevent the marriages is reached.

In her decision to dismiss (shared with NY Times), Jacobson stated: "There is no 'public interest' in depriving a class of New Jersey residents their constitutional rights while appellate review is pursued. On the contrary, granting a stay would simply allow the State to continue to violate the equal protection rights of New Jersey same-sex couples, which can hardly be considered a public interest."

Lawrence S. Lustberg, a lawyer who argued the case before Judge Jacobson on behalf of Garden State Equality, an LGBT support group and six gay and lesbian couples and their children, praised the ruling.

"We're very pleased with not just the ruling, but the opinion, which makes clear how our clients are being harmed by not being able to marry, and compares that with the lack of harm that's experienced by the state if they can marry," he said. "The harms to our clients are real. The harm to the state is theoretical."

Judge Jacobson said in her opinion that the state had not adequately demonstrated that its appeal was likely to be successful. She also denied the state's argument that New Jersey would suffer "irreparable harm" if marriages began happening. Instead,  she ruled that  the people harmed would be the same-sex couples who would have to wait even longer to gain access to the federal benefits that the United States Supreme Court guaranteed them in a decision in June. She ruled that the state had to start allowing marriages on Oct. 21