Bill Passes 178-167, Awaiting Governor’s Signature
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Amidst the excitement of gay marriage success in Maine yesterday, New Hampshire’s House quietly missed the news cycle by finalizing its vote on an amendment to its own gay marriage bill and sent it to Governor John Lynch’s desk late in the afternoon for his signature – or veto. Not in recent history has the office of governor in all 50 states been so widely in the news.
The 56 year-old second-term Democratic Governor is a Roman Catholic, a lawyer born in nearby Massachusetts, and has publicly opposed gay marriage. In 2004 he narrowly beat Republican incumbent Governor Craig Benson. Lynch enjoys one of the highest approval ratings among his peers.
Should Lynch sign the bill, it would become effective January 1, and New Hampshire would become the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Freedom to Marry Coalition presented Lynch with 11,600 signatures on a petition from residents urging him to sign the bill.