A bill that recognizes gay couples with civil unions will be on Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle's potential veto list Monday, Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona announced Thursday.

Aiona telling Honolulu ABC affiliate KITV that being on the list does not mean the governor will veto the bill.

“It will be a potential veto and the governor right now is crafting her decision as to whether or not she will or will not veto that bill,” Aiona, who opposes the legislation, said. “Soon, we will find out.”

Lingle, a Republican, has less than three weeks to decide whether she'll sign the bill into law or veto it. Lawmakers approved the law in February, but passage in the House fell 3 votes short of a veto-proof majority.

At the Republican party's annual state convention, members called on Lingle to reject the measure. In a resolution that describes civil unions as “same-sex marriage in disguise,” Republicans urged the governor to protect marriage as a heterosexual union.

Lingle is required by law to inform lawmakers of the bills she's likely to veto, but has until July 6 make a final decision.

Gay activists won their first gay marriage case in the Hawaii Supreme Court. The case was pivotal, prompting the federal government to approve the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies, and led to the nation's first voter-approved constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Activists say they'll return to court if Lingle vetoes the civil unions bill.