In less than one hour, the state of New Hampshire will grant full marriage equality to its citizenry.
Oh, right. I need to make this celebration a "diary".
Well, ok - here goes.
Here's State Rep. Jim Splaine's take on this historic moment (in part):
Beginning on New Year's Day, January 1, 2010, at 12:01 AM, New Hampshire will have marriage equality within our laws for all of our citizens. I have expressed my thanks in the past months to so many people in and out of government who have made that day possible. At the moment that House Bill 436 becomes effective, it will have been the result of twenty, even thirty years of advocacy for equality by many people throughout New Hampshire -- thousands of people, some whom are no longer with us except in spirit -- who have brought us to this point. And as we all know, work still needs to be done.
Writers and bloggers on BlueHampshire.com contributed greatly to the success of HB 436. On the dark days when the votes were too close, or when the bill stumbled, BlueHampshire hampsters came to the front. Beginning on March 18th, we had 14 core votes on the bill in the House and Senate: an initial House Judiciary Committee vote of 10-10, a House floor defeat a week later of 182-183, followed minutes later by a victory of 186-179, then a Senate Judiciary Committee vote of 2-3, followed by a Senate floor vote of 13-11, and numerous other close votes followed on related "religious protection" bills. But we won despite our opponents putting up every parliamentary roadblock they could think of. On this issue, every supporter made a difference along the way. There are many heroes of marriage equality.
I do try to keep my Blogposts non-personal -- but on a personal note, although I haven't talked about him much in recent years except to a few people, I've been thinking a lot during the past few weeks about my longtime partner, Darryl. He died after an auto accident two days after our 10th Anniversary. It was quite some years ago, so the good memories remain.
...Wherever I am at that minute just past midnight, or if I'm there in the audience looking up at the ceremonies of several couples being married, in my mind Darryl will be there with me. We'll be holding hands. I know we would have been among the first to be married if he was still here -- we often joked that we were married long before it seemed possible. We'll be together again eventually, but that moment of 01/01/10 - 12:01 AM will bring a special smile to me.
(Jim, btw, and despite his generous words of thanks to others, was the single most important person in the struggle to make marriage equality happen in the Granite State. He believed it could make it through the house this year when others didn't, and that got the ball rolling on a sometimes contentious, always unpredictable journey that was far from a certain happy outcome.)
But a happy outcome it was. In less than an hour, same-sex couples will wed outside the capitol building in Concord.
Here's a slide show of some folks who stepped up to the plate for Blue Hampshire's Face of Marriage Equality project:
Here's a look back at some constituent testimony, when marriage equality was hanging on a knife's edge. Meet Amelia, the future of these United States of America:
And finally, Bishop Gene Robinson pulls no punches in his call for uncommon courage:
I want to address my remarks on the issue of timing. Some of you know that full marriage equality for all the citizens of New Hampshire is the right thing to do.
You know that in a reasonably short time we will look back on all this in shame, and wonder what the big deal was.
Your own children and grandchildren have probably asked you why this isn't the right thing to do now.
I know and understand that some of you are worried about your next election, fearing that your doing the right thing now will cost you.
It may.
But not doing the right thing will also cost you, not just in your next election, but also in your soul's self respect.
Some of you are worried about saving the governor from having to make a tough decision.
I get the politics.
But I'm reminded of another time when timing was the issue. Dr. Martin Luther King wrote these words from the Birmingham jail not all that long ago:
"While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities unwise and untimely.
"For years now I have heard the word 'wait.' It rings in the ear of every negro with piercing familiarity. This 'wait' has almost always meant 'never.'
We must come to see with one of our distinguished jurists that justice too long delayed is justice denied."
I am here today praying for you, praying that you will do what you know is right, and to do it now. I am praying that you will find courage. Courage to rise above your political considerations.
Courage to lead.
If full marriage equality will be right some day, it is right today. Don't give in to fearmongers who want you to believe that citizens don't want a fair New Hampshire. We do.
But we need you, our senators, to find the courage to make it so. You will be in my prayers.
Let freedom ring in the New Year.