Fresh on the heels of repeal in Maine, N.H. may reconsider gay marriage

[kpete]

Fresh on the heels of repeal in Maine, N.H. may reconsider gay marriage

By Adam D. Krauss
[e-mail]
Thursday, November 5, 2009


DOVER — Now that gay marriage has been defeated in Maine, attention again shifts to New Hampshire, where lawmakers say momentum from Tuesday's vote may fuel legislation to repeal the state's law and give voters a say.

Two proposals are being drafted in the N.H. House: One would repeal the law Gov. John Lynch signed in June and re-establish civil unions; the other is a constitutional amendment that would charge voters with deciding if "the state shall only recognize the union of one man and one woman as marriage."

Supporters of same-sex marriage are strategizing and gearing up for a fight, said Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, who sponsored the gay marriage law. He said momentum doesn't rest with gay-marriage foes.

"The momentum is on our side and those of us who support equality and love over hate," he said Wednesday.


more:
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091105/GJNEWS_01/711059674

[xchrom]

1. of course. nt

[theHandpuppet]

2. Well we could see this coming

:-(

[PVnRT]

3. "Live Free Or Die Unless You're Gay"

[WillParkinson]

4. The legislature giveth...

The people taketh away.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Hope you don't mind

But I have spread this news to the GD forum with a few comments of my own.

Thanks much for the heads up!

[ShadowLiberal]

6. What kind of 'principled' politician stands up to the bigots, then joins them a year later

The fact that any of these people who voted for gay marriage would suddenly decide to reverse course, just because of what some OTHER state did is just beyond belief.

Anyone who voted for gay marriage earlier and then votes to repeal it now is just asking to get voted out of office by making neither side on the gay marriage issue trust them. Not to mention they'd also be proving themselves to be cowards and jerks willing to take away the rights of any persecuted minority group if they thought it could help them get reelected. I mean seriously, while we didn't have a veto proof vote in either house, it wasn't exactly a narrow 1 or 2 vote margin either, which just disgusts me farther at this news.

[Unvanguard]

7. The legislature is not going to all of a sudden change its mind. Marriage is safe in NH. n/t

[WillParkinson]

8. Never underestimate...

The power of a spineless politician. They bend whichever way they think the wind is going to blow as their "thinking evolves".

[Unvanguard]

9. The wind is not blowing against us. There will be little to no electoral consequences for SSM.

Not in New England, anyway.

What these Republican politicians are talking up is right-wing spin, to join the chorus of people like Maggie Gallagher, who want to say that Maine proves the non-inevitability of same-sex marriage. It's nonsense. Without some kind of initiative procedure, no state that legalizes same-sex marriage by legislature is going to get rid of it--not unless it turns out that NOM is right and fiery meteors or something start showering on pro-equality states...

Edit: Also, there's a very decent chance that one or both of New York and New Jersey will legalize same-sex marriage within the next two months. If that happens, the momentum will be back on our side--just as it was earlier this year, when a few months after another devastating electoral defeat Vermont and Iowa got marriage equality.