"I don' think that the gay rights movement should stop until [gay couples] receive the full marriage rights that they're entitled to." said Orr.

But he said he was confident that full marriage rights will be granted to gay couples in the future.

Since the bill is limited to rights and privileges protected by the state, federally provided services like Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well as immigration rights are not affected. Further, the civil unions would not be recognized outside of Vermont.

Gay rights advocates said they hope federal courts will mediate the conflict.

Thirty states have passed laws that would deny recognition to same-sex partners who have moved from states where such unions are legal. Benefits conferred in one state would not necessarily be transferable.

In California, which had granted its gay and lesbian citizens an extensive array of domestic partnership rights, voters early this month approved a measure re-emphasizing existing state law that holds marriage to be between a man and a woman.

The Vermont Supreme Court found in December that gay couples were being denied the benefits of marriage merely because of their sexual orientation. Such discrimination, the court held, violated the state constitution's "common benefits clause," which applies to all the state's residents and not merely heterosexuals.