Today, the Republican-controlled House in New Hampshire failed to pass one of seven bill attempts that would have killed same-sex civil marriage equality. The vote to repeal marriage equality failed 116-211. Democratic Governor John Lynch, who signed the 2009 bill legalizing same-sex marriage into law, would have vetoed HB 437 — sponsored by Republican David Bates – an attempt to disenfranchise thousands of same-sex couples along with gay, lesbian, and bisexual citizens who in the future might wish to marry. It was unclear if the GOP would have been able to assemble enough votes to override the Governor’s veto.
The new law if passed would have made same-sex marriage illegal, but preserved 1906 existing same-sex marriages — creating the exact same unconstitutional scenario as California did in 2008 with Proposition 8. A civil union amendment overwhelmingly failed, 82-266.
During debate, anti-repeal Republican Rep. Jennifer Coffey said, “This body has set forth a ping-pong ball on people’s lives.” And Republican Steve Murphy asked, “How can anyone support limited governance and then tell someone they can’t marry the person they love?”
While there were many Republicans who opposed taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry, others, like Rep. Warren Groen, merely dismissed polls and the vast majority of voters who want marriage equality in their state. Later, Groen was booed after asking, “What if a bisexual wants to marry two people? Or a Muslim who wants 5 wives?”
The majority of New Hampshire voters support marriage equality, but strong special interest groups like NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, had banded together to force lawmakers to take up the action.
Earlier today, Brian Brown of NOM condemned “outside groups” for influencing lawmakers. NOM is based in D.C. Brown also told MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts untruthfully that the people of New Hampshire did not want marriage equality in 2009.
Wikipedia notes that “55% of New Hampshire residents supported same-sex marriage, while 39% percent opposed it” in 2009. Additionally, “62% of New Hampshire residents opposed the new Republican-dominated legislature’s efforts to repeal the 2009 law legalizing same-sex marriage, with only 29% in favor of repeal.”
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