Hartford, Conn. ? The state House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday that would make Connecticut the second state to establish same-sex civil unions, and the first to do it without a court order.

Seeking to avoid a veto from Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the House amended the bill to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. That means the Senate, which overwhelmingly approved the bill last week, would need to approve the amended version before it reaches the governor’s desk.

Vermont has approved civil unions and Massachusetts has gay marriage, but those changes came only after same-sex couples brought lawsuits.

The Connecticut bill, approved 85-63 by the House, would give same-sex couples all the rights and privileges of marriage, but they would not be eligible to receive marriage licenses. Critics said they saw no real difference between civil unions and marriage, but proponents stressed that it would not affect the state’s marriage laws.

“The public policy of this state could not be clearer. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” said Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Rell said she was pleased the House approved the amendment defining marriage, which she had called for even though Democratic Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal had said the earlier bill “emphatically, unequivocally, without a doubt” would not permit same-sex marriages.

“Passage of this bill will extend civil rights to all couples, no matter their gender, and send the unmistakable message that discrimination in any form is unacceptable in Connecticut,” Rell, a Republican, said in a statement.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill in about a week.

Opponents held out hope of killing the bill. A few hundred people gathered on the steps of the Capitol early Wednesday morning for a rally aimed at changing lawmakers’ minds.

Also Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said he would push for a law allowing gay couples to form civil unions, and the Oregon Supreme Court said it would rule today on marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples last year. Multnomah County issued nearly 3,000 such licenses before a judge ordered it to stop.