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TRENTON, N.J. (CBS/AP) ― Gay couples will learn Wednesday whether they will have the right to marry in New Jersey.

Winnie Comfort, a spokeswoman for the state judiciary, said the New Jersey Supreme Court will release its highly anticipated decision in a case brought by seven gay couples who claim the state constitution entitles them to marry.

New Jersey is one of only five states without either a law or a state constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage. As a result, advocates on both sides believe New Jersey is more likely than other states to allow gays to wed.

Currently, only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriages.

Advocates from across the country for and against same-sex marriage are watching the New Jersey case closely. Many of those observers expect gay marriage will be allowed in the state.

"New Jersey is a stepping stone," said Matt Daniels, president of the Virginia-based Alliance for Marriage, a group pushing for an amendment to the federal Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. "It's not about New Jersey."

Gay marriage supporters have had a two-year losing streak, striking out in state courts in New York and Washington state and in ballot boxes in 15 states where constitutions have been amended since 2004 to ban same-sex unions.

Only Massachusetts -- by virtue of a 2003 ruling from that state's top court -- allows the marriages.

The national legal impact of the decision there, though, has been slight, perhaps because Massachusetts has a law barring out-of-state couples from wedding there if their marriages would not be recognized in their home states.

New Jersey has no such law.

People on both sides of the issue expect a victory for same-sex unions would make New Jersey a hot spot for gay couples from around the country who want to get married. Some of those couples could return home and sue to have their marriages recognized elsewhere.

Daniels said that next generation of lawsuits is a strategy for gay-rights advocates. "Their game, of course, is they figure all they need to do is execute this maneuver in a half-dozen states and they'll have the momentum," he said.

David S. Buckel, the Lambda Legal lawyer who argued on behalf of the seven New Jersey couples, said he does expect some couples to come to the New Jersey to get married if his suit is successful. But, he said, "it won't be tidal."

Buckel said that there have been relatively few such lawsuits filed in the U.S. by couples who went to Canada to exchange vows.

And, he said, while many same-sex couples would prefer to be married, they are getting more legal protections for their relationships. Several states, including New Jersey, offer domestic partnerships or civil unions with some of the benefits of marriage. A growing number of employers are treating same-sex couples the same way they treat married couples.

Cases similar to New Jersey's are pending in California, Connecticut, Iowa and Maryland.

Conservatives watching the cases believe the best chance for gay marriage to be allowed would be in New Jersey, where the state Supreme Court has a history of extending civil rights protections.

The ruling is to come on Deborah Poritz's final day as chief justice. Under the state constitution, she must retire Thursday, the day she turns 70.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)