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Loading ...Gay marriage closer in NH
06.03.2009 11:55am EDT
(Concord, N.H.) The New Hampshire State Senate voted today 14-10 to pass the equal marriage compromise bill – but locals say that the House is a harder sell.
The compromise bill includes a provision that allows any religious institution to decide who they will marry.“The changes augment, buttress and bolster the rights of religious freedom and they strike the appropriate balance between two values that the people of New Hampshire support, equal rights for all and the right to religious freedom,’’ Democratic Sen. Beth Reynolds told the Nashua Telegraph.
All Democrats voted in favor of the bill; all Republicans voted against it. The new compromise bill was taken up after the House failed by two votes to pass a bill with religious protections endorsed by Gov. John Lynch.
Nice try, but goodasyou.org just confirmed the opposite, New Hampshire has become state number 6 in marriage equality.
The NH House has just rejected the bill.
I think the House should approve the bill with the “religious” protections. Who would want to get married in a church that believes that homosexuality is a sin? We just want to get married, not invade any church.
This is what I don’t get, because there is nothing against religion here. It gives churches + etc. protection if they don’t want to marry same-sex couples. All this is, is just giving gays the same state rights as straight people without interfering with religious institution….so what gives? Why do Republicans go against this new changed bill?
I mean if this is allowed to pass the world won’t end, proven by other states and countries that have same-sex marriage. Nay’ing this bill won’t stop people from “becoming” gay.
There is only few reasons for saying no, one I think is that people feel threaten. This is the last hurdle in so many ways in so many people’s minds to make gays equal the straight people. There was a video I watched online debating about Prop 8 and why it lost. And one point I think is very valid is that some straight people feel that having marriage they are better than gays. I mean it may not be a conscious thing, but they may feel this way. It is like the kid on the playground who feel superior to others because they have this new awesome toy that noone else has.
Ryan- it is silly that marriage equality can be voted on in California and Maine, but each time someone talks about the issue it only ends up helping our side more than the anti-gay’s. The rational people in the middle will eventually support this. In Maine, a gay civil rights measure was voted down twice before finally being passed by the voters there. It may take longer than we want, but it will happen. And both sides know it.
Why pass marriage equally bill in court or legislation when it is going to get voted down by a referendum (the people of the land will speak) like California and Maine.
I live in California and I lost my positive thinking for good hopes. We Californian gays are no longer nice people, we are angry and we will bite you. I don’t think negative either, but just saying. One minute something good happens and then the next minute something bad happens. Now it’s World War 3 “Religions vs Gays.”
I don’t care what happens anymore. I’m tired of worrying about equal rights for all 50 States.
The good thing I will say, I am glad America doesn’t ban homosexuality/sodomy by law like in Africa & Middle East countries. We Americans can be proud of ourselves for the way we are born and live life and let live regardless of laws in support in favor of gay marriages or second class citizen rights for us all. At least we can be ourselves and not hide from the law.
Republicans say that they are not trying to discriminate against gays and that they are only trying to protect “religous” marriage. So when a sensible bill comes along and protects the rights of churches to not perform a marriage cermony, they still vote against it. So in reality, it is discrimination. Yet, these same people have no problem with multiple marriages and subsequent divorces among hetreosexuals, allowing prisoners to marry, and thier own teenage daughters to conceive out of wedlock. WTF?
Think positive people! It’s all good some battles must be fought over and over again.
This struggle is just part of fighting the good fight!
Victory once won will be sweet
Actually, we do have a “tie-breaker” here in NH… this is from an article after the last house vote:
In a stunning surprise, the fast-moving bill legalizing same-sex marriage derailed in the House of Representatives Wednesday after changes acceptable to Gov. John Lynch narrowly failed. The request to adopt Lynch-desired amendments offering religious groups and their employees legal protections was defeated, 188-186.
Had one vote gone the other way, creating a 187-187 tie, House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, who supported the changes, would have cast the deciding vote to send the bill (HB 73) to Lynch, who had said he would sign it.
To answer Steve’s question: Usually unless someone is designated as a tie-breaker (e.g. the Vice President in the United States Senate), if there is a tie the motion fails.
Well…. I’m hoping it passes this time.. Keeping my fingers crossed! I sent all my reps emails after the last vote… received some fairly positive replies (and one negative) I’m hoping my state does right by me!
What happens if the vote is a tie?
The House should pass it since they passed an earlier version. Switching votes to anti-gay would be non-sensical. Attendance by the representatives will be most important.
It may also help that yesterday in a special election, a pro-gay marriage Democrat was elected to the New Hampshire House. That adds one more vote in favor. Also many Democrats who voted against the measure last week did so because they felt they did not have enough time to review the changes (hence they did not vote to kill the bill).
I really don’t want to get my hopes up, but I do feel that it will pass this time.
Why must republicans be such bigots??? UGH!!!! There like the American Taliban. Or as their former idiot leader use to say – tally barn.