Voting on strict party lines, New Hampshire senators yesterday cleared the way for civil unions for same-sex couples. When Gov. John Lynch - who recently declared his support for the legislation - signs the bill, New Hampshire will become the fourth state to adopt civil unions.

The 14-10 vote laid plain the transformation of November's elections, which gave Democrats control of the House and Senate, wrought on the Legislature. As recently as 2004, lawmakers responded to the creation of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts by blocking the recognition of any out-of-state same-sex marriage or civil union in New Hampshire.

Democratic senators heralded the bill as a step toward equality for same-sex couples and touted the fact that New Hampshire lawmakers crafted the bill of their own accord, without the threat of a court order. "We are making this move not because some court someplace is telling us we must," said Sen. Joe Foster, a Nashua Democrat. "We do so today because we believe it is the right thing to do." Unlike Connecticut and New Hampshire, Vermont and New Jersey created their civil unions laws in response to court decisions. Massachusetts also responded to a court decision.

But for all the symbolism of yesterday's vote, the outcome was all but certain before senators took their seats. Last week, Lynch removed the greatest barrier to the bill's passage when he announced his support for civil unions, ending weeks of speculation about his intentions. Before that announcement, Lynch said that he hadn't "decided on this issue," and he questioned whether civil unions might affect existing statutes. Lynch can sign a bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The law would take effect Jan. 1. Once the bill reaches Lynch's desk, he has five days to sign it. Earlier this month, the House voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to create civil unions, with 27 Republicans joining the majority.

Within minutes of yesterday's vote, same-sex couples were planning their unions. Rep. Gail Morrison, a Sanbornton Democrat who has been with her partner for 25 years, said she would have a civil union "the minute we can."

"I hope someday the word marriage will apply to our relationship," Morrison said. "But I'm very grateful that the Senate has moved us forward toward civil unions and legal recognition of our relationship."

Words of opposition

Yesterday's Senate debate - and the sparsely attended demonstration in front of the State House - reflected the sense that the bill's passage was inevitable. Although onlookers filled the Senate gallery, only a handful of residents protested the bill near the State House steps. When Sen. Jack Barnes, a Raymond Republican, rose to oppose the proposal, he acknowledged that "we all know what the vote's going to be."

But that doesn't mean Republicans let the bill pass quietly. Several senators described civil unions as unnatural and warned that the partnerships would harm heterosexual marriage. "We don't allow our cousins to marry, you can't marry your brother, you can't marry your sister," said Sen. Robert Letourneau, a Derry Republican. "We don't allow blind people to drive or felons to vote, all for good and obvious reasons."

Despite the efforts of Democratic senators to distinguish civil unions from same-sex marriage, Republicans cast civil unions as marriage in all but name. "Let's call it what it really is," Letourneau said. "This creates same-sex marriage."

Democrats were too hasty in their embrace of civil unions, warned Sen. Joseph Kenney, a Wakefield Republican. "We should not conduct a social experiment in this state, or social engineering," Kenney said. "It is the family unit, the family structure that made America, that made this state great. And we need to preserve it."

The bill has also provided Republicans with a blueprint for the 2008 election. Democrats swept into office because of a popular governor and an unpopular war, not to create civil unions, Republicans say. In November, Democrats won control of the House, Senate and the corner office for the first time since the 19th century.

"John Lynch and his Democratic majority are going too far, too fast," said Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen, who has predicted that civil unions will energize his party's base. "When voters gave John Lynch the Democratic majority he asked for last fall, it wasn't because voters wanted to redefine marriage or make radical changes to social policy."

If interviews with opponents who gathered outside the Senate chamber are any indication, Cullen's argument could gain traction. "The agenda of the Democrats has gone forward, regardless of the needs or the wants of the people of the state of New Hampshire," said William Marland III of Pittsfield.

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