The U.S. Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop said on Monday he would like to marry his longtime partner, but only if it becomes legal in New Hampshire, where they live.
Gene Robinson, who became the ninth bishop of New Hampshire last week, said he and partner Mark Andrew hoped they could wed someday, but they did not plan to go to parts of Canada or to Massachusetts -- if same-sex marriage became legal there -- to get married.
"If the civil right of marriage were to become legal in New Hampshire, I think we'd be married in a minute," Robinson told reporters at New York University, where he received an award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
For now, "I've got too much to do as the bishop of New Hampshire," he said. "I've taken on enough for the moment."
Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has lived with Andrew for 14 years.
Robinson's consecration as bishop in November sparked fury among conservative Anglicans both within the United States and around the world, and threatened a rupture within the 70 million-member church.