N.H. Is Set To Approve Same-Sex Civil Unions

New Hampshire -- long considered the Republican foothold in New England -- was the last holdout. A commission created by the previously Republican-dominated legislature as recently as last year issued a recommendation in favor of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. But several factors, observers say, contributed to a 180-degree shift in the political climate here.

The first was the sweep in state elections last year giving Democrats control of both the upper and lower house in Concord for the first time since 1874. Also, residents have grown accustomed to seeing more gay people in their state.

Same-sex couples have flocked to gay-friendly inns -- such as the Notchland Inn and the Highlands Inn in Bethlehem, which bills itself as a "Lesbian Paradise" -- that have sprouted in the state, as they have in other parts of New England. Many of these inns cater to same-sex couples who wed in Massachusetts and are taking their honeymoons.

Also, in recent years, hundreds of same-sex couples, seeking respite from high taxes and land prices, have relocated here from more liberal corners of southern New England. Many, such as JoAnne Rainville, 52, a registered nurse, and her partner, Brenda Taylor, 56, a mortgage lender, have settled in the flannel-shirt-and-shotgun regions of the rural North Country.

"We've moved in and begun changing people's minds," Taylor said. She and her partner of 25 years settled permanently here in the late 1990s. When they first started going to their local sports bar, they would sit next to beer-drinking men with farmer caps who watched sports on TV and occasionally hurled the word "homo" at players having an off day.

"But then people started to get to know us," she said. "We knew things had come full circle in 2004, when we went off to Vermont to be joined in civil unions after they passed it there. When the people at our sports bar found out, they got together and gave us a party to celebrate our union. Now I call those flannel-shirted guys 'my protectors' if anyone ever did try to mess with us around here."

In 2003, a University of New Hampshire poll found that 54 percent of state residents supported civil marriage licenses for same-sex couples, a number that gradually increased to 58 percent in February. When asked in February if civil marriage for same-sex couples "bothers you," 74 percent said no and 26 percent said yes.

In fact, in strongly libertarian New Hampshire, a new bill that would make it the last state in the union to adopt a mandatory seat-belt law has generated far more controversy, political experts say.

"I just don't think it's a major issue anymore," said Jim Lupien, 40, a lifelong Republican and owner of the Cool Moose Creamery & Candy Store on Concord's old-style Main Street. "Vermont did it, and then Massachusetts, and people around here just started thinking, 'Okay, what's the big deal?' I'm not pro-gay, but that's no reason to deny them their rights."

The Catholic Church and other religious groups have come out against the legislation, arguing that it effectively sanctions homosexuality, to which they are opposed. But much of the political opposition has instead focused on what some feel is a "gay exclusive" law that should be expanded to include other types of same-sex couples.

"We haven't really gotten into the morality of the argument," said Republican state Rep. Maureen C. Mooney, an outspoken critic of the bill. "What I'm opposed to is carving out a chapter in our laws for a special interest group. Why can't two sisters enjoy these rights, or a boyfriend and girlfriend who don't want to get married?"

By settling for civil unions rather than pushing ahead with same-sex marriage, liberal Democrats in New Hampshire are effectively bowing to Lynch, the state's hugely popular governor, who opposes same-sex marriage.

Still, for Butler and Schoof, together for 29 years, the law would effectively grant them all the legal protection as married heterosexuals, including visiting rights for a hospitalized partner -- something the pair see as particularly important after an incident several years ago denied Schoof access to seeing Butler after he had been hospitalized for a heart problem.

"Once this bill passes, nothing can separate us," Schoof said. He jokingly added, "well, at least in New England."