TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey's highest court opened the door Wednesday to making the state the second in the nation to allow gay marriage, ruling that lawmakers must offer same-sex couples either marriage or a legal equivalent, such as civil unions.

In a ruling that fell short of what either side wanted or most feared, the state Supreme Court declared that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual ones. The justices gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite the laws.

The ruling is similar to the 1999 high-court ruling in Vermont that led the state to create civil unions, which confer all of the rights and benefits available to married couples under state law.

The vote was 4-3, with the three dissenting justices arguing that the majority did not go far enough. They asserted that gay couples should have the "right to the title of marriage" as well as its benefits.