New Hampshire Legislature Passes Same Sex Marriage

By a very thin margin of 178 to 167 New Hampshire's Legislature has voted in favor of a bill allowing gay marriage. Governor John Lynch, who has not been clear in the past about how he would respond should the bill pass the Legislature (though he has said the word "marriage" should be reserved for heterosexuals), now has 5 days to act on the bill before it automatically becomes law. On Wednesday, the Governor promised,

"I'm going to talk to legislators and I'm going to talk to the people of New Hampshire and ultimately make the best decision I can for the people of New Hampshire."

On the other hand, Gov. Lynch also noted:

“I still believe the fundamental issue is about providing the same rights and protections to same-sex couples as are available to heterosexual couples. This was accomplished through the passage of the civil-unions law two years ago. To achieve further real progress, the federal government would need to take action to recognize New Hampshire civil unions.”

Civil unions were legalized in New Hampshire in 2007. Those "unions" will automatically be recognized as "marriages,"-- no longer making gay citizens of New Hampshire"separate, but equal"-- should Gov. Lynch sign on.