Trenton, N.J. (AP) – More than 700 same-sex couples have gotten married or renewed their vows in New Jersey the first 47 days the state allowed gay nuptials.
The state Health Department that as of Dec. 6, town registrars had informed the state of 679 new marriages and 30 couples married legally out-of-state renewing their vows.
Of the new marriages, 461 of the couples already had civil unions or domestic partnerships in New Jersey.
There are lags in reporting the data, so the state’s tally does not include all same-sex marriages.
Statistics for opposite-sex marriage were not immediately available, but the state said there were about 44,000 ceremonies in 2012. November 2012 was one of the slowest months of that year for weddings and there were nearly 3,000.
The state’s first same-sex marriages happened Oct. 21, just days after the state Supreme Court refused to halt implementation of a lower court order that found the state must allow gay couples to marry.
The same day the weddings began, Gov. Chris Christie announced he would stop the state’s legal battle opposing same-sex marriage.
