New Hampshire Legalizes Gay Marriage Reuters
By Andrew J. Manuse
June 3, 2009
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire () - New Hampshire on
Wednesday became the sixth U.S. state to authorize
gay marriage, deepening a New England niche for
same-sex weddings and the spending that comes with
them.
New Hampshire's Democratic-controlled House of
Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176
vote, hours after the state Senate approved the
legislation 14-10 along party lines, making the
state the fourth this year to back gay marriage in
the United States.
Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, signed the bill,
which goes into effect on January 1.
"Today, we are standing up for the liberties of
same-sex couples by making clear that they will
receive the same rights, responsibilities, and
respect, under New Hampshire law," Lynch said in a
statement.
The law also recognizes out-of-state gay
marriages and civil unions, which are legal in just
a handful of U.S. states including New Hampshire.
Same-sex couples who have civil unions in New
Hampshire will automatically be married January 1,
2011.
Last month, the New Hampshire House rejected a
similar bill. But Senate and House members met last
week to approve new language giving clergy and
religious institutions opposed to gay marriage
greater protections, including the legal right to
decline to marry same-sex couples.
Opponents, mostly religious conservatives, see
gay marriage as a threat to the "traditional family"
that is ordained by God and the foundation of
civilization. Supporters often compare it to the
path blazed by the civil rights movement.
PROTECTING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
New Hampshire's bill says religious
organizations, associations or societies will have
"exclusive control" over their religious "doctrines,
teachings and beliefs".
Organizations affiliated with religious groups
that operate for charitable or educational purposes
can deny marriage services to gay individuals, it
adds.
"The (changes) strike the appropriate balance
between two important values we believe New
Hampshire residents support: equal rights for all
and the rights to religious freedom," said state
Senator Deborah Reynolds, a Democrat.
Senate Republicans said the amendment did little
to change a bill they oppose. Republican state
Senator Sheila Roberge said Democrats should support
Republican calls for a referendum so voters can
decide the issue.
Only a few countries, mostly European nations,
allow gay marriage. Forty-two U.S. states explicitly
prohibit same-sex marriage, including 29 with
constitutional amendments.
Last week, California's supreme court backed a
ban on gay marriage by upholding a voter-approved
proposition defining marriage as between a man and a
woman.
In stark contrast, gay-marriage laws are
expanding swiftly on the East Coast, especially in
New England where Massachusetts became the first
state to allow gay people to marry five years ago.
Gay and lesbian weddings have boosted the
Massachusetts economy by about $111 million,
according to a study by the Williams Institute of
the University of California.
Same-sex couples have been getting married in
Connecticut since last year and in Iowa since April.
Gay marriage laws in Vermont and Maine are due to
take effect in September. The New York State
Assembly passed a gay marriage bill last month, but
it faces an uphill battle in the state Senate.
With the vote in New Hampshire, five out of six
New England states now have passed legislation
authorizing gay marriage, making Rhode Island with
its large Roman Catholic population the region's
only hold-out.
