By Peter J. Smith
CONCORD, New Hampshire, November 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Invigorated by their recent victory in Maine, pro-family advocates have now turned their attention to rolling back same-sex “marriage” in New Hampshire, where a law passed by the state legislature in June is set to take effect in January 2010.
Foster's Daily Democrat reports that social conservatives have seized the momentum of victory in Maine, and two options for a referendum will be put forward in the New Hampshire State House come January. The first proposal would repeal the same-sex “marriage” legislation signed by Gov. John Lynch in June. The second proposal would be a state constitutional amendment that would allow voters to have the final say on whether “the state shall only recognize the union of one man and one woman as marriage.”
Same-sex “marriage” legislation in its final form passed in the New Hampshire House on June 3 by a vote of 198-176 and was approved by the Senate the same day in a 14-10 vote. The bill had gone through seven emendations over several months, including the insertion of key guarantees on religious freedom, before Gov. Lynch would sign the bill into law.
“The issue was brought forth against the will of the majority of people, by a minority of people who confuse the issue by saying it was an equal-rights issue,” Rep. Jordan Ulery (R-Hudson) told the Democrat.
Ulery and four other bill sponsors are behind the repeal initiative and Rep. Dan Itse (R-Fremont) is the driving force behind the constitutional amendment.
Although the bill's original sponsor, Rep. Jim Splaine (D-Portsmouth), says he believes that attempts to hand same-sex “marriage” over to the people will ultimately fail in the legislature, he told the Democrat, “we have a fight cut out for us in January” once the legislature resumes.
Only five states have legal same-sex “marriage” in the United States: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Iowa.
So far 31 states – the latest being the state of Maine – have voted to preserve the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Every single state where same-sex “marriage” has been put to a popular vote has seen it voted down.
See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:
New York Gov. Declares Nov. 10 Extraordinary Legislative Session for Same-Sex “Marriage”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09110604.html
New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex “Marriage”: Governor Signs Bill
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060312.html