Robinson attended the ceremony in Concord during which Gov. John Lynch signed the bill. The new law allows same-gender couples to apply for the same rights as married people as early as January 2008. Same-gender unions from other states also will be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed.

New Hampshire will be the fourth State to offer civil unions and the first to do so without a court order or threat of one.

"This is not a radical departure," Robinson said of the bill, according to the Associated Press. "This is a real confirmation of what New Hampshire has always been about: the freedom of its own citizens and fairness for everyone."

The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire encompasses the entire state.

Lynch, a Democrat, called the measure a matter of conscience.

"How could any one of us look into the eyes of our neighbors, our friends or our loved ones if we continued to deny them these basic legal protections?" he said.

Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay marriage.

Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, and California allow either civil unions or domestic partnerships, and Oregon will join the list with New Hampshire in January 2008. A similar law in Washington State takes effect July 22. Hawaii extends certain spousal rights to same-gender couples and cohabiting heterosexual pairs, as do New York City and Washington D.C.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer introduced gay marriage legislation in the state legislature April 27, but its passage is doubtful, according to reports.

Meanwhile, civil partnerships have been legal in England since December 2005, and the Church of England addressed the law at that time. Some Canadian provinces began allowing gay marriage since 2003, and a countrywide law took effect in mid-2005. The Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod voted in 2004 to defer a decision of the church's stance until its June 2007 meeting.