New Hampshire Republicans have decided to sponsor a bill that would merely repeal their state’s 2010 marriage-equality law rather than to float a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality outright—namely because it’ll be easier to pass.
Doesn’t that go against NOM’s whole “Let the People Vote” schtick?
Of course, a bill would require only a majority vote in the House and Senate to pass, while a constitutional amendment requires a three-fifths vote in the Legislature plus two-thirds voter approval.
Democratic Governor John Lynch has already promised to veto the bill, but the Republican-led Legislature could override his veto with a two-thirds vote.
How about we take this to the next level?
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So unless some New Hampshire Republicans suddenly grow a heart—like state Republican Party Vice Chairman J P Marzullo, who recently said that repealing marriage equality will contribute to discrimination and teen suicides—same-sex marriage in New Hampshire is toast.
The repeal would basically offer civil unions to any straights, LGBTs and relatives. (Yes, you can join a civil unions with your gram-gram.) These substandard unions would offer few of the benefits of marriage and still allow any organization to discriminate against couples with impugnity.
We imagine it’ll be about as popular as New Jersey’s Rhode Island’s civil-union law—the one that only nine gay couples have signed up for.
One of the CA 36,000
Waiting for the disgusting trolls over at GOProud to shoot off their pieholes about how good this is for the LGBTQ community and how Republicans are that community’s only TRUE friends.
Republicans are, almost without exception, hateful and repulsive barely-human beings whose entire political worldview boils down to:
“I got mine, or I have a 1/1,000,000,000th chance of getting mine, so f*ck everyone else, it’s all mine and I don’t want anyone else to get it. Least of all any n****rs or f****ts or women who won’t f*ck me.”
Dan
Correct this article: Nine people have signed up for the “Rhode Island” civil unions (which are misnamed because the state law in Rhode Island gives only a few rights, unlike New Jersey’s Civil Unions law which gives more).
Gigi
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
Stefan
“but the Republican led New Hampshire legislature could easily override his veto with a two-thirds vote.
So unless some New Hampshire Republicans suddenly grow a heart—like state Republican party Vice Chairman J P Marzullo who recently said that repealing marriage equality will contribute to discrimination and teen suicides—marriage equality in New Hampshire is toast”
Getting way ahead of the situation. The bill didn’t recieve a veto-proof majority in the judicial committee, and it’s already causing a divide among Republicans in the House. There are still 26 Republicans who voted against repeal in 2010 (who even bothered to show up that is), 1 more who got elected in a special election this year, the two who voted against it in the judicial committee, and several more who have already voiced opposition to repeal.
Also, even if this were to pass we could easily sue and get it stayed from going into effect.
Patsy Stoned
NH is conservative, but leans very libertarian. The majority of citizens there would keep marriage equality, but these idiot Republican assholes are intent on keeping New Hampshire the Alabama of New England.
Gigi is right – they ran on “jobs, jobs, jobs” but once in office they revert right back to gaybashing and do NOTHING about the economy. Small government my ass!
Riker
They know that they are losing the culture war, and they don’t want to lose their ace in the hole of “no public vote has ever affirmed homosexual marriage”. NOM knows it only has a few years left, and they want to maximize that time (and $$$$) before it is revealed that “the people” and “the moral majority” do not actually care about denying gays rights.
Robert in NYC
As usual, the republicans will make sure it gets repealed, the party of hate. Shame on gay republicans for supporting them and that includes civil libertarians and tea party scumbags, voting for a party that first and foremost votes against LGBT people and has not authored one piece of equality legislation, nor will it.
Mike
ultimately, if this passes, it is our fault.
Occupy Oakland has proven that only a couple thousand protesters can shut a large bustling city down.
Concord, NH has a population of less than 50,000! Boston is less than 70 miles away. Portland, ME is less than a 100 miles away.
In a show of solidarity, the LBGT community of New England could flood Concord with a non-violent sit-in of thousands of people, shut it down, and occupy it for weeks. If you take away our rights, there will be no business-as-usual.
It’s just a question of, do we care or not?
Ken S
Fascists-at-heart always *love* democracy and the rule of law as long as the majority agrees with them, or is lazy or apathetic enough to let them ‘get away with it.’ As soon as the people wake up or disagree, they’ll resort to any sleazy, underhanded, dishonest trick they can to get their way forced onto everyone else.