Update: Sometimes its euphoric to be wrong. NH just voted against rescinding marriage equality. The title of this diary was just changed by substituting AGAINST for FOR.
Today, the New Hampshire House of Representatives is expected to vote on whether to rescind the law that made same-sex marriages legal in New Hampshire. The law was passed in 2009, came into effect January 1st, 2010, has been in effect for more than two years, and has resulted in more than 1900 marriages.
A Crimson Tide last February attends a hearing on the bill to rescind marriage equality.
Despite massive rallies, despite poll after poll telling them the people of New Hampshire are not interested in rescinding the law, despite even some New Hampshire Republicans telling them that this is against the principles upon which New Hampshire is based, the House is determined to pass something to do away with the fundamental right to marry for some of its citizens.
Rally in Concord, NH last year in favor of continued marriage equality
Since wingnut (1) Republicans have super-majority control of the House, even the opposition of some Republicans to this measure is not thought likely to be enough to defeat it. (2) Only Democratic Governor Lynch's veto, and a potential lack of enough votes to override it, are expected to prevent the measure from becoming law. (It is also possible that the New Hampshire Senate will fail to take up the bill, but they have an even more lopsided Republican majority.)
No one that I follow knows exactly what is going to be voted on today -- various amendments have been circulating to modify the original proposal, which preserves existing same-sex marriages, substitutes civil unions for such future marriages, and allows anyone to discriminate against those in civil unions or same-sex marriages as they see fit.
Amendments that require a non-binding referendum on the question of marriage equality in November, postpone the law's implementation date to March, 2013 (to give the Legislature a chance to undo it based on the results of the referendum), and/or which take out the clause allowing arbitrary discrimination, have been proposed.
Today's New Hampshire House proceedings are being broadcast live, if you can stomach it.
I'll post updates if anything begins to happen in the House.
(1) No, this is not hyberbole. Consider
State Rep. Kyle Tasker (R-Nottingham) explained to onlookers that he had donated blood that morning and the effects caused him to drop his gun at the start of a House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee meeting. The committee was meeting to amend an abortion bill pending in the Legislature. The gun did not fire.
State Rep. Steve Shurtleff (D-Concord), a member of the committee, said that he was sitting three seats away from Tasker in the committee room when he heard "a clang" and saw that the gun was on the floor. Shurtleff said Tasker routinely wears two guns in a shoulder holster to legislative meetings.
(2) Although there is a
thread on Blue Hampshire in which someone claims that
Cline said on WGIR this morning that he thinks the bill will be defeated...
It will not pass in the House.
I don't know who 'Cline' is, but FWIW.