By Beverley Wang
Associated Press

LITTLETON - Gay marriage commissioners made their first group foray outside
the state capital Tuesday to ask the public whether, and how, same-sex
couples should be recognized in New Hampshire.

The answers they received tilted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing civil
unions and marriage.

About 100 people gathered at the Littleton Opera House to meet the 15-member
panel, created last year to examine all aspects of same-sex civil marriage,
its alternatives and the legal ramifications. By the lengthy meeting’s
2½-hour mark, only three people had spoken against same-sex unions.
Gay marriage proponents in the North Country heard the same message that had
been pushed repeatedly by others in past meetings: Limiting marriage to
heterosexuals is a civil rights violation that needs to be corrected.
"Separate but not quite equal will never be equal," said Ronnie Sandler, of
Easton, who asked commissioners to support civil marriage for gays and
lesbians.

Several members of the clergy testified Tuesday, but only one spoke against
same-sex unions. Rev. Curt Hanners, of Christ Church in Littleton, warned
that efforts to normalize homosexual relationships posed a hazard to
families and children. Hanners blamed popular culture and political
correctness for the "popularization" of homosexuality.

"We appeal to you and the governor ... to reject these efforts," he said.
Hanners said his church split from New Hampshire’s Episcopal Diocese because
of opposition to Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the only openly gay bishop elected
to head an Episcopal diocese.

The commission also heard testimony from Rev. Brendan Hadash, who said about
half of the parishioners at his St. Johnsbury, Vt., Unitarian Universalist
Church come from New Hampshire. Five years after Vermont legalized civil
unions for gays and lesbians, Hadash said heterosexual marriage had been
strengthened by the increased attention on marital rights.

"Since civil unions were legalized in Vermont, the number of straight
weddings I have performed has almost quadrupled," he said.
The commission’s next on-the-road meeting is planned for Portsmouth in June.

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