The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the state must begin granting same-sex marriage licenses on Monday, a rebuff to Gov. Chris Christie.

Christie, a Republican, favors civil unions, which New Jersey has offered since 2007, but opposes gay marriage. The state had tried to delay the granting of gay marriage licenses pending an appeal of a ruling last month that found the state must allow same-sex couples to marry, saying that not doing so deprives them of rights that were guaranteed by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.

Christie had asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to freeze a state judge's ruling legalizing gay marriage until it heard the case in January and made a final decision, but the court, in a unanimous ruling, found that the state had "not shown a reasonable probability it will succeed on the merits."

New Jersey will become the 14th state to recognize same-sex marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia.