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37 Couples Enter 1st Civil Unions In N.H.

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By BEVERLEY WANG, The Associated Press

Published: January 2, 2008

CONCORD, N.H. - Dozens of gay and lesbian couples entered into civil unions in New Hampshire in the early moments of New Year's Day as a new state law legalized the partnerships after midnight.

Organizers said 37 couples checked in for an outdoor ceremony on the plaza of the New Hampshire Statehouse - the building where the law was adopted and signed in 2007. Participants bundled up against below-freezing temperatures.

"We've been together 20 years; we've been waiting for this moment for 20 years; finally the state will recognize us as we are," said Julie Bernier, who posed for photos on the Statehouse steps with partner Joan Andresen before the ceremony. Bernier and Andresen, who both work at Plymouth State University, never sought a commitment ceremony or other symbolic recognition of their relationship before Tuesday.

"I didn't believe in doing it until it meant something," Bernier said.

As ceremonies go, the outdoor event that began at 11 p.m. Monday was equal parts political rally, party and personal triumph.

"We really didn't believe that we'd be able to see this accomplished within one year but it has happened," state Rep. Jim Splaine, a sponsor of the civil unions bill, told the cheering crowd of about 200. New Hampshire's civil unions law, enacted by the Democrat-dominated Legislature early last year and signed by Democratic Gov. John Lynch in May, gives same sex couples the same rights, responsibilities and obligations of marriage without calling the union a marriage. New Hampshire is the fourth state to allow civil unions; Massachusetts allows same-sex marriages.

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