By ROSS SNEYD
Associated Press Writer

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont's Supreme Court was asked Thursday to decide whether wagering among 14 lawmakers about the outcome of last year's debate over civil unions should invalidate the law.

Town clerks, legislators and taxpayers are challenging the landmark law, which gives gay couples the closest thing in the United States to marriage. The state attorney general's office argues they have no case.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Matt Staver said the 14 state House members who threw $1 each into a pot had a stake in the outcome of the vote - a violation of House rules that prohibit members from voting on an issue in which they have a direct interest.

If those 14 lawmakers, all supporters of the law, had been disqualified from voting, the bill would have died. Instead, it passed 76-69, then received Senate approval and the governor's signature.

Bridget Asay, an attorney for the state, said that House rules and the rules of parliamentary procedure require that someone who believes a lawmaker has a conflict of interest say so at the time.

Justices questioned lawyers from both sides about whether it was proper for the courts to get involved.

``Aren't you asking the judiciary to determine motive?'' Justice Marilyn Skoglund asked. ``Aren't you asking the judiciary to come wading into the legislative process?''

Vermont is the only state to give gay couples nearly all of the rights and privileges available to married couples.

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