New Hampshire rejects civil unions for all
If civil unions for all seemed like a solid trend, then New Hampshire just reversed its course. According to The Telegraph, a bill (HB 569) had been proposed to “replace same-sex marriage with domestic unions for all adult partners, be they heterosexual or homosexual couples.”
Easton Republican Rep. Gregory Sorg said there is no political support for domestic unions even though Gov. John Lynch signed a civil union bill for gay couples in 2007.
Lawmakers then replaced it with same-sex marriage. Lynch became the only sitting governor to have signed a law granting marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
“It seems to me there is no longer a constituency in the House for domestic unions. It has not been a Republican issue,” Sorg said.
“I do not believe the Democrats are in favor of reverting to civil unions and I know the Republicans aren’t,” he said.
Walpole Democratic Rep. Lucy Weber said the domestic union bill posed more complications than the civil unions law the state previously had.
“I have a very grave concern with the way this bill was written as opposed to the way civil unions was written,” Weber said.
“If we change to domestic unions for everybody, I am very unclear with how that meshes with all the federal laws and tax provisions that give us benefits because we are married.”
