HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – With advocates and opponents of same-sex marriage gearing up for another battle at the state capitol, Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Friday said she’d veto any legislation that allows gay and lesbian couples to marry.

The Republican governor signed the bill in 2005 that allowed same-sex couples to enter into legal civil unions. Connecticut was the first state to voluntarily pass such legislation without court pressure.

“I said ... when I signed the civil union bill that I believed it covered the concerns that had been raised. And I believe that that bill was the appropriate way to go and I still do,” Rell told reporters at a state capitol news conference. “And the answer is yes, I would veto a bill that provides for same-sex marriage.”

Same-sex marriage advocates were dismayed by Rell’s comments, but still planned to push ahead with legislation this session. A bill still has not been drafted, but the legislature’s Judiciary Committee – where such a bill would likely start – has an April 13 deadline to vote out bills to the floor of the House or Senate.

“We’re disappointed in the statement, but we are going to continue the dialogue,” said Anne Stanback, president of Love Makes a Family, a same-sex marriage advocacy group in Connecticut. “We hope that she will listen to the stories of the same-sex couples, the children of same-sex couples and why they feel that marriage is different from civil union and is something they should not be excluded from.”

Stanback’s group plans to hold a news conference at the capitol on Jan. 31 to kick off its campaign to pass a same-sex marriage bill this year. Couples are expected to talk about why they feel civil unions fall short of marriage.

Meanwhile, the Family Institute of Connecticut, which opposes same-sex marriage, also plans to launch its campaign on the same day. The group’s president, Brian Brown, and a contingent of legislators, mostly Republicans, plan to call for a referendum on same-sex marriage. They want the voters to decide whether the state’s marriage laws should apply to same-sex couples.

Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes same-sex marriages.

The institute also plans to hold a “Let the People Decide” rally at the capitol on Feb. 21. They claim hundreds of citizens are expected to attend.

A call was left seeking comment with the organization on Friday.

The 2005 civil union law provides same-sex couples with the same rights and privileges under state law as married couples. The law also defined marriage as between a man and a woman in Connecticut.

Eight couples have sued the state, claiming civil unions are an inferior status and violate their constitutional rights to equal protection, due process and free expression and association. The plaintiffs sought a court injunction compelling the state to grant each couple a marriage license rather than a civil union license, which the judge denied.

The couples say the laws are unconstitutional because they treat gay and heterosexual couples differently.