MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.—New Jersey voters remain evenly divided over whether gay couples should be given the right to marry in the state, according to a poll released Oct. 31.

But, according to the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, two-thirds of poll respondents said they favor civil unions.

The poll was conducted about one year after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that gay couples had to be given the legal rights of marriage. Late last year, the state legislature responded by adopting the nation’s third civil unions law. It gives couples benefits in many areas, including inheritance and adoption rights and the right to health insurance for partners, just like married people can get.

But gay rights advocates have been pressing for full marriage rights, arguing that civil unions are not easily understood and that too many companies do not recognize them. They have promised a major push for full marriage in the legislature, likely sometime next year.

Overall, 48 percent of the adults who responded favored gay marriage, while 44 percent opposed it.

Nearly three in five people between 18 and 29 favor gay marriage, compared with about half of voters between 30 and 64, and one-third of those over 65.