Gay Marriage Passes the NH Senate! While it's not a done deal, it's much closer to done than I ever expected. If truth be told, I have never been an activist for gay marriage. During the last election cycle, while I was psyched that NH Freedom to Marry endorsed my guy, I was very adamant in stating that I could never be a one issue (LGBT) voter. With the amazing list of horrible things our country and our leaders are facing growing exponentially (pandemics, unemployment, climate crisis, wars, terrorism), fighting for marriage rights seemed selfish to me. I would tell anyone who asked that I cared more about poverty and lack of health care than about getting married. So, I am, admittedly, late to this party.
About two weeks ago, I took a day off from work to take my twins, now 6, to the NH State House to hear some of the public hearing regarding HB 436. It was fun to be out & active again, to see some familiar faces and all that. But I wasn't expecting the nastiness, and had to leave so as to not expose my children to some truly bone-chilling testimony. At least I exposed them to the State House and the process, and we had a very fun adventure.
The State Senate Judiciary Committee, sadly, voted not to support the bill, but in true Granite State fashion, every bill reaches the floor for vote, and nothing can ever be killing in committee. (cue School House Rock "I'm sitting in committee...") I love that! So, on Wednesday, the State Senate finally voted. I was unable to attend on such short notice, but I was lucky enough to have found a new UNH College Dem who was live-Tweeting from the scene. Got nothing done all day as I flitted between Facebook (for status updates), Blue Hampshire (for live blogging), and Twitter. Facebook won, thanks to a post from NHDP Ray Buckley at 2:22pm that said "Ray Buckley wants you to know that the NH Senate just passed marriage equality by 13-11." It was David, my new College Dem pal, who informed me of the technicalities: back to the House to approve amendments before passing the bill on to Gov. Lynch. But still, a huge hurdle was passed. Wow!
Everyone I know was frantically researching to see how their Senator voted, and to see if the next email was to be a thank you note or not. For most of us here on the Seacoast, it was a thank you note. Since I personally know my senator, Amanda Merrill (who used to work upstairs from me), I got a quick and personal reply of appreciation for my thank you. A few days later, she sent out a mass-reply to everyone who had written, less personal and much more formal, emphasizing how this bill is respectful of religious differences and protects religious freedom:
"The bill provides equal access to marriage for New Hampshire couples, regardless
of gender. The legislation also clarifies that marriage may be solemnized
in a civil ceremony or a religious ceremony, and affirms that no one shall be
required by law to officiate at a marriage in violation of his or her right to
free exercise of religion. The amended version of the legislation was
accepted by the majority of senators after hours of public testimony and
personal reflection upon the correspondence we received from all corners of the
state. "
So, back to the House then on to Gov. Lynch. I'm not worried about the House and I don't think anyone is. My State Rep is UNH Prof. David Watters, who lives down the street from me and someone I see frequently in the UNH MUB. (I really do love our citizen legislature.) My prediction is that Gov. Lynch will not veto. He released a cryptic statement right after the vote, which talked about federal recognition of civil unions and marriage. So, my prediction is now official...we'll see how this one goes!
Since my political junkiness is more of a national level, the question rolling around in my head is how will this effect the 2010 Senate race, and the next presidential primary cycle!? If both Iowa and NH--firsts in the nation--are both places where the elected legislature voted in favor of gay marriage how will a candidate who opposed it manage the message here vs. their national message. Oh, I love this stuff!
One last note: I'm still loving following The Blogette. She's the only sane Republican left on Earth! Meghan: Please come to UNH next year.
