Gay bishop speaks
in favor of N.H. civil unions

V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's sole openly gay bishop, added his voice to New Hampshire's civil unions debate, saying legalizing same-sex unions doesn't threaten religion or families.

Robinson testified at a state senate hearing on civil unions, which passed the house last week. He said he went to the legislature as a religious leader and a New Hampshire citizen seeking equality for himself and his partner of nearly 20 years.

"What we seek in the civil realm is the equal treatment by the state government in supporting this development of our relationship with the legal, financial, and societal underpinnings which are afforded married couples at the very moment they say 'I do,' " he said.

Church, family, and the state collided Tuesday under the statehouse dome as the senate took a first look at the bill, which if passed would make New Hampshire the fourth state to allow gay and lesbian couples to enter civil unions. Canada and Massachusetts allow same-sex marriage. Vermont, New Jersey, and Connecticut provide civil unions. New Hampshire's civil unions bill would give gay and lesbian couples all the state rights of marriage, though not the federal rights.

The Roman Catholic diocese of Manchester asked the senate judiciary committee to reserve marriage for men and women.

"No other form of relationship between persons can be considered equivalent to a natural relationship between a man and a woman out of whose love it is possible for children to be born," said Diane Murphy Quinlan, chancellor of the diocese. "Marriage is not simply a matter of emotion between two people or a lifestyle choice."

Robinson suggested families would flourish under civil unions.

"Would that we could get all heterosexual couples to take these commitments and responsibilities so seriously," he said.

Robinson's election in 2003 as the first openly gay bishop sparked international fallout in the worldwide Anglican Communion to which the U.S. Episcopal Church belongs. Anglican leaders have since asked the U.S. denomination to stop ordaining more gay bishops and temporarily refrain from blessing same-sex unions. He referred to none of that Tuesday.

"This legislation simply has nothing do to with religious bodies and their affirmation or rejection of such unions in the civil realm," he said.

More than 200 people signed up to speak against civil unions, 94 in favor--the committee adjourned after four hours without hearing everyone.

Esther Poulin, of Bedford, used part of her time to reading the story of Adam and Eve from the book of Genesis. God created Eve as a helpmate to Adam, said Poulin, 50. "For us to rewrite God's law is an abomination," she said.

Eric Knutsen, a church worker and waiter from Concord, worried about the human harvest.

"When a man has a sexual relationship with a woman, what he is doing is he's sowing a seed," he said. "We can call all sorts of things families, but when a man and a man get together and sow their seed among another--have sex, sow a seed--it does not bear any fruit."

State senator Martha Fuller Clark said civil unions should pass so her sons, gay and straight, could have the same chance at happiness. His voice breaking, former state senator Gary Francoeur asked lawmakers to be "righteous" and vote down civil unions, even though he has a lesbian daughter.

"My heart aches today as I watch the consequences of the sin in their lives," he said of his children. He said his daughter "knows the law of the land yet she chooses to live a homosexual lifestyle."

The committee is expected to make its decision on civil unions Thursday. Senate president Sylvia Larsen, a Democrat from Concord, said she's optimistic it will pass the full senate.

Gov. John Lynch remains the wild card. Lynch is against marriage equality but says he's still making up his mind about civil unions. He supports expanding state employee health benefits to cover same-sex partners. If the bill reaches his desk, Lynch can sign it, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto it.

Opponents already are looking ahead to the bill's expected passage. On Tuesday they were passing out postcards to Lynch, asking him to veto it. (Beverly Wang, AP)