|
A rather historic vote was taken Thursday in Concord. For the first time, a committee of the New Hampshire State Legislature endorsed a civil unions bill, which would allow same-gendered couples to have all of the same "rights, obligations, and responsibilities" currently given to differently-gendered couples.
The House Judiciary Committee voted in a very bipartisan 15-5 vote to approve House Bill 437. Some real stars on the Committee speaking for the bill included Chair David Cote of Nashua, Gail Morrison of Sanbornton, and Bette Lasky of Nashua.
If it passes on the House floor this coming week and is approved by the State Senate, it would be historic in another way: this would be the very first time that a state has adopted legal unions for same-gendered couples without any threat of court action first. New Hampshire would join Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey as the only states with civil unions. California has a fairly extensive domestic relationships law, but comes short of formal unions for same-gendered couples. Massachusetts allows marriage for its gay and lesbian citizens, but that was court mandated and hasn't been vetoed by their legislature.
Our action in favor of equality contrasts positively to the 27 states where constitutional amendments have been adopted prohibiting same-gendered relationships. New Hampshire is also one of just 20 states protecting sexual orientation as part of our civil rights law; in some 30 states one can still be fired, or denied housing or services, just because of being gay.
It's not finalized yet, of course. The State Senate would have to vote favorably if the House approves the bill. And we can expect a tough floor fight in the House.
And Governor John Lynch hasn't said he will allow civil unions to become law, with or without his signature. I'm confident he will, however, because from my knowing him since the early 1970s, I've always found him to be an inherently fair person. While he has stated he would veto gay marriage, he has indicated he will consider something else, and that he is opposed to discrimination against our tens of thousands of gay and lesbian citizens. Now he can deliver.
Civil unions isn't marriage, with the word. While it provides all the same rights, obligations, and responsibilities of marriage, it isn't marriage. That fight has to continue, and I'll be joining others on that effort. Another bill was approved by the Judiciary Committee that would create a serious study and analysis about marriage for gays and lesbians.
Progress on equality, however, occurs step by step. We've come so far because of the hard work and sacrifices of so many so far. Civil unions is a positive step. If one has a 20 foot pond to jump over, it sure helps if there's a stepping stone in the middle.
HB 437 is sponsored by Somersworth State Representative Dana Hilliard and myself, but working hard for its passage have been most of the openly gay members of the House: Marlene DeChane of Barrington, Ed Butler of Harts Location, David Pierce of Etna, as well as Gail Morrison. Most were at the all-day hearing on the bill a couple of weeks ago, and the 6 hour Committee voting session, joined by former State Representative Ray Buckley. Former State Senator Rick Trombly has worked hard on this and other equality issues as well.
The adventure continues...
|
