Conserve NH

In a surprise, unannounced signing ceremony, Gov. John Lynch agreed to rewrite New Hampshire’s marriage laws by enacting a civil unions measure that discriminates against heterosexual couples and opens our marriage laws up to the kind of legal scrutiny that could result in a Massachusetts-style gay marriage dictate from the courts.

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Some observers take solace in the fact that the civil unions bill became law through the normal democratic process, as these things ought to do. And yet I do not recall a single campaign ad, not a single flier from Lynch or any other politician during the 2006 election that said: Elect me and I will legalize civil unions.

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What is more disturbing to me is that several New Hampshire residents who attended the Senate Judiciary Committee’s single hearing on this matter claim they were unfairly silenced and not allowed to testify against this bill. Like Lynch’s unpublicized signing ceremony, the bill was crammed through the Legislature with little regard for any dissenting, majority opinion.

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New Hampshire citizens were told that their opinion did not matter.

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Recall also that many of the same legislators who supported the civil union law also opposed a constitutional amendment to allow the people to vote on a ban on gay marriage, so determined were they to insulate themselves from majority public opinion.

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And make no mistake: We who oppose this new law make up a majority of voters. According to an April American Research Group poll, 55 percent of those 25 to 44 years old, 52 percent of those 45 to 64, and 53 percent of those 65 and older oppose a law allowing civil unions.

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I suppose if I supported a fundamental rewrite of our state’s marriage laws, I would pursue my agenda stealthily, too. The governor and his legislative partners need to be reminded that this is New Hampshire, not Washington.

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As members of the New Hampshire House opposing this bill argued, this measure will bestow upon homosexual couples special rights and privileges not also bestowed on heterosexual couples (or non-sexual couples, such as siblings) that choose to live together. This feature of the law puts the lie to Lynch’s assertion that he and the Legislature are ending discrimination. In fact, they are blatantly writing discrimination into the law.

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For those curious as to the next step for the homosexual lobby, they need look no farther than Connecticut. The Connecticut Legislature passed a civil unions law, which the governor signed. Sound familiar? Well, wouldn’t you know it – the homosexual lobby is now unhappy with civil unions and is suing for full marital rights for homosexuals. Expect the same here in the Granite State.

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Conserve NH, a grassroots citizens group I founded just two weeks ago, had already collected roughly 900 petition signatures urging Lynch to veto the civil unions bill on the day he signed the law. We were unable to deliver those signatures to the governor in time because of his secretive, unannounced ceremony. As far as we are concerned, the battle between the people and the politicians to defend traditional marriage is still in its early stages. We will now push for repeal of the civil unions law.

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Any and all of our elected officials who promote repeal of this truly destructive law can count on tremendous public support from the grass roots.

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Paul Nagy, chairman of Conserve NH