Many feared that New Hampshire would become the first in
history to take marriage rights away from its LGBT citizens. And yet, it’s been
almost a week since New Hampshire legislators voted to keep marriage equality
on the books, and thousands of people around the country are spreading the word
in celebration—especially the nearly 2,000 couples who were married under New
Hampshire’s marriage equality law which passed in 2009.
Had
the marriage equality law been repealed, the new law would have reinstated
the state’s previous civil union law for same-sex partners. The repeal sought
to create three types of committed New Hampshire couples: heterosexual married
couples, same-sex couples who married before the repeal, and couples in civil
unions who married after the repeal. Thankfully, this will not be the case!
Though Republican legislators held a 189 seat advantage over
House Democrats, the final vote was 116-211 against
the repeal. The same held true in the Senate, where the final vote was 133-202.
One Republican representative provided insight for this incredible, and
welcomed, outcome: “The Legislature has given certain rights to members of our
community,” said
State Rep. David Welch (R-Kingston), “and now we’re being asked to take
them away.” It was something he couldn’t agree with, even though he opposed
same-sex marriage in the past. “I am so proud of my fellow Republicans who
understood that freedom and liberty means freedom for all of us, including the
freedom to marry,” added
New Hampshire Republicans for Freedom and Equality chair Sean Owen.
We thank the legislators of New Hampshire who understand
that equality is not a right which can be revoked. Hopefully we will see more
states come to this understanding as we continue fighting for marriage equality
across the country this year.
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