The court gave the state the option of either redefining marriage to include same-sex couples or creating a parallel domestic partnership system. The Vermont governor and state attorney general predicted that the legislature would adopt the second option. If so, same sex couples in the state would be the first in the nation to have the full range of legal benefits accorded to married people, including health insurance and other work-related benefits.
See "Court Backs Equal Rights for Gay Couples", David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1999