What a difference a week makes (too bad Dinah Washington isn’t around to give us a rendition of her signature song). Seven days ago there was teeth gnashing over the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Prop 8 vote. Heck we even had some keyboard revolutionaries leaving messages here about how it’s time to either shoot straight people or burn a few churches (how is that going you little pink Mau Maus?).

Today there is nothing but jubilation. Yesterday New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch put his signature on a gay marriage bill and starting in 2010, same sex couples will be able to walk down the aisle in the Live Free or Die State. The happiness is well deserved because it proves what Dan Savage pointed out: we are winning.

Attention now turns to New York and there is conflicting data. State Sen.Tom Duane, who is leading the fight in Albany, says there are enough votes to pass same sex marriage legislation. This turned Duane’s colleague, Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., hissy and the anti-gay marriage advocate released a statement telling Duane to “shut-up” (Diaz has a history of press releases filled with operatic histrionics).

Wish I had a crystal ball that would show how the New York Senate will vote, but I have no idea what is going to happen. Nate Silver, over at 538.com, crunches the numbers and says it’s going to be a tough haul but nothing is definitive.

It makes my day to think like Nate.

PS: RIP Koko Taylor.

At a press conference, GOP members from the House and Senate accused Democrats of wasting time when they should be concentrating on the economy, and urged Lynch kill the marriage bill now.

Republicans said the voters should decide whether same-sex couples should have the right to marry.

“Now is the time to allow the citizens of New Hampshire to vote on a same-sex marriage referendum,” Sen. Minority Leader Peter Bragdon (R) told reporters.

A same-sex marriage bill passed the legislature earlier this month, but Lynch said he would veto it unless it offered better protections to churches that oppose same-sex marriage.

The revisions approved Wednesday morning in the Senate by a 14-10 vote would have made it clear that churches, church organizations and staff are protected from lawsuits if they refuse to permit same-sex marriages.

But when it went to the House in the afternoon, it was defeated by only two votes – 188-186.

The revisions now go to a joint House Senate committee to try to work out a compromise acceptable to the governor.

If a compromise is reached and Lynch signs the bil, l it would make New Hampshire the sixth state to permit same-sex marriage and the fifth in New England.

The original marriage bill passed the legislature earlier this month, but Lynch said he would veto it unless it offered better protections to churches that oppose same-sex marriage.

The revisions approved earlier Wednesday in the Senate by a 14-10 vote would have made it clear that churches, church organizations and staff are protected from lawsuits if they refuse to permit same-sex marriages.

But when it went to the House in the afternoon, it was defeated by only two votes – 188-186.

The House then voted 207-168 to ask the Senate to negotiate a compromise with the governor instead of killing the bill.

Last month, the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released a statewide poll that found 55 percent of New Hampshire residents support gay and lesbian couples’ right to marry, while 39 percent oppose it. 

If a compromise is reached and Lynch signs the bill it will make New Hampshire the sixth state to permit same-sex marriage and the fifth in New England.

The original bill passed the legislature earlier this month, but last week, the governor said he would refuse to sign it unless there was clearer language protecting churches, church organizations and staff from lawsuits if they refused to permit same-sex marriages.

The bill stated that churches would be allowed to decide whether they will conduct religious marriages for same-sex couples.

But Lynch said Thursday he wants clearer language to ensure that people won’t be forced to violate their religious principles. Lynch said that laws in Connecticut and Vermont do that.

The governor said if the change is made he will sign the bill.

The amendment being prepared by a Senate committee will be attached as a separate measure to an unrelated bill to avoid reopening the whole gay marriage issue and to expedite approval.

It will come to a vote in the Senate and House on Wednesday and then go to Lynch’s desk.

If they amendment satisfies the governor, New Hampshire would become the sixth state to allow gays and lesbians to marry.

“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,” the Democratic governor said Wednesday evening.

The state’s gay marriage bill squeaked through the House on a 178-167 vote after an hour of debate. Both chambers appear to be far short of enough votes to override a veto.

If Lynch signs the bill or lets it become law without his signature, New Hampshire would become the sixth state in the nation to legalize gay marriage after Maine approved the legislation Wednesday.

Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat who hadn’t indicated how he would handle Maine’s bill, signed it shortly after the legislation passed the Senate on a vote of 21-13 – a margin not large enough to override a veto.

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Baldacci said in a statement read in his office. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

Maine’s bill authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.

The law is to take effect in mid-September but could be sidetracked before then. Opponents promise to challenge it through a public veto process that could suspend it while a statewide vote takes shape.

Sue Estler, of Orono, said she and her partner of 20 years, Paula Johnson, plan to get married. But she also thinks opponents might collect enough signatures to force the referendum.

A professor at the University of Maine, the 64-year-old Estler said she sent an e-mail to out-of-state friends and family members Wednesday saying “Oh, my god. The governor just signed the bill.”

“But I said, ‘Don’t make your travel plans for the wedding yet. There’s still probably a referendum to go,’” she said.

Legislative debate in Maine was brief. Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to an openly gay member, Sen. Lawrence Bliss, D-South Portland, for the final vote.

Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed “at the expense of the people of faith.”

“You are making a decision that is not well-founded,” Plowman warned.

Both states’ bills specify that religious institutions don’t have to recognize same-sex marriages.

The activist group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has targeted all six New England states for passage of a gay marriage law by 2012.

Connecticut has enacted a bill after being ordered to allow gay marriages by the courts, and Vermont has passed a bill over the governor’s veto.

Massachusetts’ high court has ordered the state to recognize gay marriages. In Rhode Island, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been introduced but is not expected to pass this year.

New England states have acted quickly since gay marriages became law in Massachusetts in 2004 because it’s a small region with porous borders, shared media markets and a largely shared culture, said Carisa Cunningham of the gay defenders group.

Outside New England, Iowa is recognizing gay marriages on court orders. The practice was briefly legal in California before voters banned it.

New Hampshire Rep. David Pierce, who has two daughters with his partner, described telling his 5-year-old that “some people don’t believe we should be a family.”

“When my kids grow up and are old enough to understand what we’re doing here today, I want them to know I did everything I could to fight for our family,” said Pierce, D-Hanover.

The bill was approved by the Senate last week. The House voted 178-167 after debating for about an hour.

Lynch has said he believes the current civil union law works, but has avoided questions this week on what he will do when the marriage bill hits his desk.

“I recognize that the issue of same-sex marriage is intensely passionate and personal, and raises strong emotions on all sides,” the Democratic governor said in a statement following the Senate vote. 

“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.”

Lynch could sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

Last week, the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released a statewide poll that found 55 percent of New Hampshire residents support gay and lesbian couples right to marry, while 39 percent oppose it. 

If Lynch signs the measure, it would make New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, and the fifth in New England, leaving only Rhode Island in the region without marriage equality. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Maine legalized gay marriage. Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a marriage equality bill minutes after it received final passage in the legislature. 

In addition to Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, same-sex marriage also is legal in Iowa.