PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Though gay rights activists and New Hampshire’s gay and lesbian community prepare to celebrate the start of civil unions on Jan. 1, not everyone is welcoming the new development.

Gov. John Lynch signed the civil unions bill into law this spring, calling it an important step in ending discrimination. But in the Statehouse, a group of conservative lawmakers has sponsored a bill to prevent New Hampshire from recognizing civil unions and same-sex marriages performed out of state.

Karen Testerman, head of the conservative group Cornerstone Policy Research, said she has no immediate plans to push for an overturning of the civil unions law but will continue promoting her belief that heterosexual couples make the best parents.

Fergus Cullen, chairman of the state Republican Party, said civil unions are evidence the Democratic-dominated Legislature is pushing an agenda on the state.