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Gov. Chris Christie's veto is all that stands in the way of equal rights for gay couples.

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

Celebrate the Supreme Court's decisions on gay marriage for a moment, but not for long.

Because none of it helps the thousands of gay couples in New Jersey who remain the victims of official discrimination by our state government, thanks entirely to Gov. Chris Christie.

This week’s decisions change the landscape in the fight over same-sex marriage in New Jersey, making it nearly certain that the governor is doomed to lose this fight, probably by next year at the latest.

Begin with the politics. When the governor vetoed a bill providing for marriage equality last year, he said he was “adamant” that same-sex couples “deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples.” Most legislators who opposed the bill said the same thing.

What will they say now? By striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court granted new rights to same-sex couples who are actually married. They are now entitled to equal treatment in all federal programs, including Social Security and military benefits.

Same-sex couples who are joined only by civil unions gained none of that. The pretention that these couples have full legal equality is now demolished once and for all. A married couple in New Jersey gets these federal benefits; a civil union couple does not.

So when Democrats call for a vote to override the governor’s veto, as is likely soon, how will the governor and his supporters justify the undeniable discrimination against these same-sex couples?

With roughly two-thirds of New Jersey voters now in favor of same-sex marriage, might Republican legislators take this opportunity to jump ship from a losing cause?

The legal landscape is changed for the same reason. In its 2006 Lewis vs. Harris decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples must have equal rights. The court did not require that the term "marriage" be applied, and the Legislature responded by enacting the civil union statute.

Gay rights advocates later filed suit, citing overwhelming evidence of discrimination against same-sex couples in these unions by hospitals, insurers and employers. That case is pending -- and is now transformed by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, since civil unions clearly do not provide the full equality demanded in the 2006 ruling. That state case could go to trial as early as this summer, and reach the state Supreme Court next summer.

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The final option – the trump card – is for Democrats to put this question on the 2014 ballot, as the governor has challenged them to do.

Most leaders of the gay rights movement in New Jersey oppose that, for understandable reasons. The idea that fundamental rights should be put to a popular vote is repugnant. Would the governor have proposed a vote on interracial marriage back when that was illegal?

But what if that’s the only way? If the governor’s veto stands, and if somehow the legal case is lost, a popular vote offers the only path to end this discrimination. And the fact that gays are second-class citizens, especially in a state as progressive as New Jersey, is simply no longer tolerable.

We are in the midst of a cultural revolution, and it is unstoppable. The notion that gay people are something less, that they should be treated differently, is fast becoming as noxious a form of bigotry as racism.

It hardly matters whether Christie harbors anti-gay feelings himself or is simply playing the political odds as he prepares to run for president. His veto of the bill providing marriage equality is the most indefensible act of his governorship. And one way or another, it must be reversed.

Supporters react to U.S. Supreme Court declaring DOMA unconstitutional 17 Gallery: Supporters react to U.S. Supreme Court declaring DOMA unconstitutional

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