The New Jersey Supreme Court made news when it handed down a significant ruling in the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage. While the court’s 4-3 decision moved New Jersey closer to the handful of states that legalize same-sex unions, a recent Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 54% of New Jersey voters believe marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman only.

The court ruled that committed same-sex couples should enjoy the same rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples. The matter of whether these couples can legalize their commitments as civil unions or marriages was shifted to the state legislature, which was tasked with using the next 180 days to rewrite existing marriage laws to include homosexual couples or create new civil union rules.

Currently, Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay marriage; Vermont and Connecticut allow civil unions.

While the majority of Garden State voters support the traditional definition of marriage, the state also has a relatively high percentage of those who see marriage as the union of any two people (42%). Massachusetts tops that list (51%) followed by Vermont (49%); Rhode Island and Hawaii (45%); and New York (44%).

Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown of responses regarding same-sex marriage and related cultural issues.

A Rasmussen Reports survey taken last summer revealed an emerging division among pro-choice voters on the topic of same-sex marriage. In the July 2005 survey, 48% of pro-choice voters supported the traditional definition of marriage and 44% believed it was a union of any two individuals. Nationally, the survey found that 66% of all voters favored the traditional view of marriage and 28% supported a wider interpretation of the institution.

Our June 2006 update survey showed little change in those numbers: 68% said they supported traditional marriage and 29% supported unions of any two individuals.