And so New Hampshire comes one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to institute civil unions for gay couples without direct order or threat from a state court. Marriage-like benefits are soon to be available to all citizens of New England states. Let’s party!

But, seriously, is this really an argument against gay marriage?:

Nevertheless, opponents of same-sex marriage look at what is going on in New England and express growing concern. “The more states that do this, the less radical and more plausible the idea may appear in others,” said Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council.

So the more states that adopt gay marriage, the more people may realize it’s actually, like, totally not a big deal? The horror!

My favorite part of the whole thing:

In fact, in strongly libertarian New Hampshire, a new bill that would make it the last state in the union to adopt a mandatory seat-belt law has generated far more controversy, political experts say.

It’s New Hampshire, baby!

UPDATE: This was pretty interesting:

In February, Rhode Island’s attorney general issued a landmark ruling that opened the door for residents there to legally marry in Massachusetts, effectively making it the second state to recognize same-sex marriage.

I didnt even hear about this! Battle won, controversy over, stick a fork in it, gay marriage is here.