NEW YORK, NY April 21, 2005 —Connecticut has become the second state in the nation to recognize same-sex civil unions and the first state to do so without court pressure.

The law gives same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples, but not the right to wed.

Governor Jodi Rell signed the bill into law after Senate approval yesterday.

RELL: This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. It should not be partisan, and I think that by signing it today I have indicated that that is in fact the case.

Rell said she supported the legislation because it preserves traditional marraige between a man and a woman. The law takes effect October first.