Us > N.H. Governor OKs Gay Unions

il Unions Bill, Legalizing Unions for Gay Couples Starting Next Year

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, wearing blue sweater, standing next to his attorney Mayer Morganroth, far right, addresses the media after walking out of the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., Friday, June 1, 2007. Behind Kevor

Gov. John Lynch has signed a law establishing civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire, allowing them to apply for the same rights as married people as early as January.

New Hampshire has "a long and proud tradition taking the lead in opposing discrimination," Lynch said Thursday. "Today that tradition continues."

It will be the fourth state to offer civil unions and the first to do so without a court order or threat of one.

Couples who enter civil unions will have the same rights as married couples. Same-sex unions from other states also will be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed.

Lynch, a Democrat, called the measure a matter of conscience. "How could any one of us look into the eyes of our neighbors, our friends or our loved ones if we continued to deny them these basic legal protections?" he said.

The bill passed both chambers of the Democrat-controlled Legislature last month, largely along party lines.

Among those attending the bill-signing ceremony was New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose consecration in 2003 as the church's first openly gay bishop divided the worldwide Anglican Communion to which it belongs. Robinson and his longtime partner plan to take advantage of civil unions.

"This is not a radical departure," Robinson said of the bill. "This is a real confirmation of what New Hampshire has always been about: the freedom of its own citizens and fairness for everyone."

Robinson said he will not direct Episcopal priests in the state to bless same-sex unions, letting priests decide that individually. Such blessings have been another divisive issue for Episcopalians and the Anglican union.

An opposition group called Conserve N.H. vowed to seek the law's repeal. Chairman Paul Nagy called it a "payoff to liberal special interests."

Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay marriage.

Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, California and Washington allow either civil unions or domestic partnerships, and Oregon will join the list with New Hampshire in January. Hawaii extends certain spousal rights to same-sex couples and cohabiting heterosexual pairs.

2007-06-03