Despite a recent uptick in the number of states that have legalized same-sex marriage across the nation, state representatives in the New Hampshire House are currently debating House Bill 437, which would repeal the same-sex marriage law passed in 2009. It will be brought to a vote during the spring 2012 legislative session, according to state legislators.
HB 437, which passed the House Judiciary Committee on Oct. 25, would prevent same-sex couples from receiving marriage licenses while still recognizing marriages already performed. It will likely pass in both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, though Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., has indicated that he will veto the bill if it passes.
Republicans are unlikely to achieve the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override Lynch's veto, according to State Rep. David Pierce, D-Grafton.
New Hampshire is one of only six states that currently issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The District of Columbia and various Native American tribes also recognize such unions.
The bill's author, State Rep. David Bates, R-Rockingham, is a second-term member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives. Bates said he believes in the "traditional definition of marriage."
"By definition, marriage is the union of a man and a woman," Bates said in an email to The Dartmouth. "HB 437 seeks to return the definition of marriage in our state law to its proper meaning."
Pierce, who is openly gay, said he disagrees with Bates' sentiment. Pierce said this issue concerns the idea of equality and that HB 437 is "un-American."
Pierce also said the legislation does not correspond to the views of many New Hampshire citizens. Twenty-seven percent of New Hampshire residents support a repeal, compared to 62 percent who oppose it, according to a WMUR poll.
"[HB 437] is devoid of any relation to the reality of what New Hampshire thinks." Pierce said. "It goes against the very tradition of the state of live and let live.'"
Bates, however, said he is prioritizing repealing HB 437 because the citizens of New Hampshire want the repeal.
"It is simply not credible to suggest that the citizens of New Hampshire are the anomaly of the nation concerning their beliefs about the meaning of marriage," Bates said. "Thirty-one states have voted on the meaning of marriage and in every case the citizens have voted to keep marriage defined as the union of a man and a woman."
A number of states, however, have pushed ahead with gay marriage legislation in recent months. Washington's state legislature approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Feb. 1, which was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, D-Wash., on Feb. 13, though opponents have filed a referendum challenging the law, according to The Seattle Times.
A similar bill passed the Maryland House of Delegates on Friday and is expected to pass in the state senate, according to The Baltimore Sun. Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., who pushed for the legislation, is expected to sign the bill, which could be approved by the end of the week.
New Jersey's state legislature also approved same-sex marriage legislation on Thursday, but Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., vetoed it the next day, calling for a referendum on the issue, according to The New York Times.
For personal as well as political reasons, Pierce said he hopes the current law stands and gay marriage remains legal.
"My partner and I have been together for 20-something years, and we have two little girls," he said. "When they grow up and they're old enough to understand this kind of bigotry and discrimination, I really don't want them to know that they were the objects of it, and so I'm hoping the better side of our nature prevails."
While College Democrats and College Republicans do not officially take stances on issues, College Republican's President J.P. Harrington '14 said he personally believes that Republican legislators should focus their attention on other issues, specifically the economy.
"I personally stand with some of the more libertarian members of the Republican-controlled New Hampshire State Congress and argue that the government should not be involved in the business of marriage," Harrington said in an email to The Dartmouth. "I think the Republican Party both nationally and locally needs to call a truce on social issues for the next four years and refocus on a few major policies to restore America cutting government, cutting marginal tax rates and closing tax loopholes to increase revenue, restoring the rule of law by repealing Obamacare, the National Defense Authorization Act 2012 and the Patriot Act, [and by] passing the National Right to Work Law and repealing cumbersome bureaucracies and regulations."
Stewart Towle '12, a member of Gender Sexuality XYZ, said the Republican motives behind passing HB 437 could be more related to politics than the to the issue of marriage itself.
"I see it as an effort to mobilize the conservative base in New Hampshire, honestly," Towle said. "The really deeply conservative see the idea of making it legal for queer people to have the same rights as straight people as a danger to their values, so it really is effective in mobilizing the far right."
