New Hampshire
In 2007, New Hampshire's legislature introduced both a marriage equality bill and a civil unions bill. The civil unions bill was passed and the governor signed it into law. The new law took effect in January 2008. While incremental steps such as civil unions do provide some protections and responsibilities, ultimately, marriage is the only status which achieves true fairness and equality. State advocacy organizations and citizens across New Hampshire continue to work towards marriage equality.
FROM EVAN WOLFSON:
BLOG: Marriage Equality: A Cause and Conversation That Won't (and Shouldn't) Stop
Huffington Post
September 13, 2007
Evan Wolfson notes the recent events of an Iowa court decision striking down discrimination in marriage, the California legislature passing a marriage equality bill, and a Republican presidential candidate getting booed in New Hampshire for being anti-marriage, all proof that the conversation about the freedom to marry is unavoidable and present at the epicenters of presidential politics. Wolfson presents important points from the Iowa decision which exemplify why marriage matters and offers advice to presidential candidates with the Candidates' Guide on How to Support Marriage Equality and Get Elected.
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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition
New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition provides the grassroots advocacy, education, and information necessary to achieve same-sex civil marriage rights in New Hampshire. The organization has several chapters throughout the state.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Your Community—New Hampshire
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
New Hampshire Census Snapshot
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in New Hampshire.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research
on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the
biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring
legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases
in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.
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NEWS:
Less than two weeks in, N.H. civil unions near 100
Nearly 100 same-sex couples have been joined in civil unions since they became legal in New Hampshire on New Year’s Day. “I think mostly people are saying, ‘Let’s take the legal protections we can right now and keep up the fight,’’’ said Mo Baxley, a state lawmaker and executive director of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, which supports full marriage for gay people. Baxley says she already has heard from state residents who have been surprised to learn that civil unions don’t provide all the benefits of heterosexual marriage. “People are starting to understand exactly what this law means and what it doesn’t mean,” she said.
Poll: Marriage not an issue for NH Republicans
365Gay.com
June 13, 2007
The poll asked likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, "In your opinion, which one issue is most important to your vote in the presidential primary? Which is next most important? What is the third most important?" It found that the war in Iraq topped the list at 36 percent, followed by illegal immigration at 11 percent and then the economy at 9 percent. Marriage for gay and lesbian couples was 17th on the list with the number of replies too low to measure.
Crossing the border
With New Hampshire joining the ranks of the civil union states this year, same-sex couples can now obtain all of the legal state benefits of marriage in four of the six New England states, either through civil unions in New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut or through marriage in Massachusetts. But what happens when you cross state lines? Legal professionals at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) answer some intricate questions dealing with civil unions and what they mean for couples, particularly dealing with parenting.
[Civil unions spread, but gay people want to wed
Stateline
May 31, 2007
"Civil unions are nothing like marriage," Garden State Equality Director Steven Goldstein said. "The cockamamie contraption simply doesn't work. If civil unions were a person, they would be arrested for fraud."
Civil unions law adds complexity to benefits plans in NH
New Hampshire Business Review
May 11, 2007
Although ERISA preempts state laws that relate to benefits, laws relating to insurance are not preempted. As a result, it is expected that the New Hampshire Insurance Department will rule that if an employer offers medical insurance coverage for married employees, the civil union law requires the employer to offer similar coverage to those in a civil union. But employers that provide self-insured medical, dental and other benefits to employees are not subject to the same state insurance laws because ERISA does cover them. Therefore, they will not be obligated to provide the same coverage to employees in civil unions as they do to married employees — although they could do so on a voluntary basis.
In NH, civil unions would give 'same rights' as marriage
The Seacoast
May 2, 2007
Federal rights and protections recognized worldwide, however, are not provided to gay couples. Depending on the individual states' marriage and civil union laws, or lack thereof, other states are not obligated to recognize the same rights provided by New Hampshire. "It's pretty good," said Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, who co-sponsored House Bill 437. "But it's not marriage."
BLOG: NJ civil unions after two months & why "marriage" still matters
The Huffington Post
April 24, 2007
Civil unions and domestic partnerships may seem fine on paper, but they just don't work in the real world. Same sex couples in New Jersey can attest to that. Of the 575 couples registered as of April 20, many have alerted the advocacy group Garden State Equality that employers and insurers are denying them protection — some 54 in all. That's a 10% rate of inadequate rights — "one of the most astonishing rates of failure for a civil rights law in our lifetime," according to Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein. Not to mention that those 54 are just the ones we know about.
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MULTIMEDIA:
VIDEO: Audience boos Brownback's proposal to ban gay marriages
Think Progress
September 5, 2007
At the Fox News GOP presidential debate tonight, correspondent Carl Cameron asked a New Hampshire woman whether she wanted gay and lesbian marriages banned. Her answer — "Absolutely not" — received cheers from the audience. When Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) then said he believes the nation should have a constitutional amendment banning gay peoples' marriages, the audience loudly booed.
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Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in New Hampshire.
At the Fox News GOP presidential debate, correspondent Carl Cameron asked a New Hampshire woman whether she wanted gay and lesbian marriages banned. Her answer — "Absolutely not" — received cheers from the audience. When Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) then said he believes the nation should have a constitutional amendment banning gay peoples' marriages, the audience loudly booed.
